MORGANTOWN -Prior to Saturday's showdown, the good bet to pull the crowd from its seats - other than a predicted rain storm in the fourth quarter - was the game within the game featuring West Virginia's Tavon Austin and Maryland's Stefon Diggs, a pair of similar-style burners who grew up an hour from each other on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Rarely do the favorites come in ahead by such a large margin like they did after the Mountaineers' 31-21 victory, WVU's seventh straight in this border series.
They were both highly recruited out of Maryland despite being a bit undersized, both wore No. 1, and they were the most explosive players on their respective teams.
At the end of the day, Austin got the better of Diggs in a box score in which WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen said he'd never seen so many similarities in all of his years of coaching.
Austin caught 13 passes for 179 yards, blowing past Jock Sanders to become the school's all-time receptions leader, and he also hauled in three touchdown passes. Austin also had three punt returns for 17 yards and one kickoff return for 20, finishing with 225 all-purpose yards.
Diggs had three catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns, four punt returns for 17 yards, and three kickoff returns for 63 yards, finishing with 201 in total.
Fact Box
No. 8 WEST VIRGINIA 31,
MARYLAND 21
Maryland7707-21
West Virginia141007-31
First Quarter
WVU-Rigg 51 fumble return (Bitancurt kick), 7:14.
WVU-Austin 44 pass from G.Smith (Bitancurt kick), 4:24.
Md-Diggs 42 pass from Hills (Craddock kick), 1:54.
Second Quarter
Md-Leak 12 pass from Hills (Craddock kick), 12:16.
WVU-FG Bitancurt 37, 7:40.
WVU-Austin 24 pass from G.Smith (Bitancurt kick), :52.
Fourth Quarter
WVU-Austin 34 pass from G.Smith (Bitancurt kick), 8:18.
Md-Diggs 56 pass from Hills (Craddock kick), 7:25.
A-58,504.
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MdWVU
First downs1819
Rushes-yards35-4625-25
Passing305338
Comp-Att-Int20-30-130-43-0
Return Yards2523
Punts-Avg.6-45.87-44.6
Fumbles-Lost5-20-0
Penalties-Yards5-316-59
Time of Possession31:1428:46
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Maryland, B.Ross 20-52, Reid 4-20, Burns 1-17, W.Brown 2-3,
Hills 8-(minus 46). West Virginia, Buie 14-33, Austin 2-4, Thompson 1-3,
Garrison 2-1, G.Smith 6-(minus 16).
PASSING-Maryland, Hills 20-29-1-305, Team 0-1-0-0. West Virginia,
G.Smith 30-43-0-338.
RECEIVING-Maryland, Leak 5-69, Furstenburg 4-65, Pickett 4-27,
Diggs 3-113, Dorsey 3-31, B.Ross 1-0. West Virginia, Austin 13-179,
Bailey 6-55, Woods 5-44, Buie 3-45, Thompson 2-10, McCartney 1-5.
No. 16 OHIO ST. 29, UAB 15
UAB6603-15
Ohio St.02108-29
First Quarter
UAB-N.Adams 20 blocked punt return (kick blocked), 9:21.
Second Quarter
UAB-FG Long 47, 10:27.
OSU-R.Smith 1 run (Basil kick), 6:31.
UAB-FG Long 54, 3:44.
OSU-B.Miller 12 run (Basil kick), 1:50.
OSU-Z.Boren 2 run (Basil kick), 1:02.
Fourth Quarter
UAB-FG Long 34, 13:44.
OSU-B.Miller 1 run (B.Miller run), 5:03.
A-105,019.
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UABOSU
First downs2220
Rushes-yards34-14437-204
Passing259143
Comp-Att-Int28-46-112-20-0
Return Yards420
Punts-Avg.3-31.07-36.4
Fumbles-Lost2-10-0
Penalties-Yards9-997-60
Time of Possession33:5526:05
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-UAB, Reaves 16-72, Perry 5-26, Coles 3-21, Franklin 3-21,
D.Jackson 2-10, A.Brown 5-(minus 6). Ohio St., J.Hall 17-105,
B.Miller 11-64, R.Smith 6-24, Z.Boren 2-7, Corey (Philly).Brown 1-4.
PASSING-UAB, A.Brown 21-35-1-196, Perry 7-11-0-63. Ohio St.,
B.Miller 12-20-0-143.
RECEIVING-UAB, Reaves 7-42, Williams 5-55, N.Adams 5-45,
Hearn 4-40, Nelson 2-17, J.Davis 2-14, Coles 1-32, Accursio 1-7,
Backman 1-7. Ohio St., Corey (Philly).Brown 4-67, D.Smith 4-39,
J.Hall 2-21, Heuerman 1-10, M.Thomas 1-6.
MARSHALL 54, RICE 51, 2OT
Marshall14714676 -54
Rice77141373 -51
First Quarter
Mar-Grooms 17 run (Haig kick), 8:12.
Rice-Petersen 30 run (Boswell kick), 3:44.
Mar-Butler 57 run (Haig kick), 1:56.
Second Quarter
Mar-Grooms 5 pass from Cato (Haig kick), 8:02.
Rice-Moore 43 pass from McHargue (Boswell kick), 5:51.
Third Quarter
Rice-McGuffie 31 pass from McHargue (Boswell kick), 11:08.
Mar-Grooms 45 run (Haig kick), 9:12.
Rice-McGuffie 50 pass from McHargue (Boswell kick), 7:42.
Mar-Hoskins 1 pass from Cato (Haig kick), 4:17.
Fourth Quarter
Rice-FG Boswell 39, 13:49.
Mar-Watson 2 run (pass failed), 4:10.
Rice-McHargue 43 run (Boswell kick), 3:17.
Rice-FG Boswell 23, :00.
First Overtime
Mar-Watson 4 run (Haig kick).
Rice-D.Jackson 3 run (Boswell kick).
Second Overtime
Rice-FG Boswell 28.
Mar-Grooms 5 run.
A-14,204.
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MarRice
First downs3134
Rushes-yards50-33450-301
Passing259346
Comp-Att-Int28-39-023-43-0
Return Yards01
Punts-Avg.5-50.83-31.0
Fumbles-Lost2-01-0
Penalties-Yards8-684-25
Time of Possession26:1533:45
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Marshall, Butler 18-166, Grooms 12-103, Watson 14-84,
Cato 6-(minus 19). Rice, McHargue 17-153, Petersen 16-76,
D.Jackson 7-37, Ross 7-32, Hamilton 2-7, Eddington 1-(minus 4).
PASSING-Marshall, Cato 28-39-0-259. Rice, McHargue 21-36-0-314,
D.Jackson 2-6-0-32, Taylor 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING-Marshall, Shuler 8-87, Dobson 5-66, Crawford 3-17,
Anta.Wilson 3-17, Hoskins 3-15, Evans 2-25, Snipes-Booker 2-19,
Butler 1-8, Grooms 1-5. Rice, Taylor 7-79, McGuffie 4-109, Moore 4-64,
McDonald 4-54, Petersen 2-20, Gautreaux 1-12, Ross 1-8.
Ohio 44, Norfolk State 10
NS (2-2) 0 0 0 10 - 10
O (4-0) 24 10 10 0 - 44
O: Donte Foster 10 pass Derrius Vick (Matt Weller kick) 12:58, 1st
O: Beau Blankenship 24 pass Vick (Weller kick) 10:15, 1st
O: Weller 49 field goal 7:03, 1st
O: Blankenship 2 run (Weller kick) :20, 1st
O: Jordan Thompson 15 pass Vick (Weller kick) 8:35, 2nd
O: Weller 40 field goal :07, 2nd
O: Donte Foster 13 pass Vick (Weller kick) 7:04, 3rd
O: Weller 31 field goal 5:10, 3rd
NS: Randy Maynes 7 run (Everett Goldberg kick) 5:00, 4th
NS: Goldberg 41 field goal 1:30, 4th
Team stats
Norfolk State: First downs: 14; Rushes-yards: 35-110; Passing yards: 131; Total yards: 241; Passing: 16-32-0-2; Punts-average: 6-29.8; Fumbles-lost: 3-3; Penalties-yards: 11-96
Ohio: First downs: 20; Rushes-yards: 48-179; Passing yards: 199; Total yards: 378; Passing: 14-20; Punts-average: 4-27.8; Fumbles-lost: 0-0; Penalties-yards: 7-60
Individual stats
Norfolk State: Takeem Hedgemen 10-39; Passing: Jake Basmagian 8-14, 68 yards; Receiving: Derrick Demps 6-45
Ohio: Beau Blankenship 25-109; Passing: Derrius Vick 25-109; Receiving: Donte Foster 5-69
Next game: Ohio at Massachusetts 3:30 p.m. Saturday
Mount Union 52, Marietta 0
MA (0-3) 0 0 0 0 - 0
MU (3-0) 7 17 14 14 - 52
MU: T.J. Lattimore 5 run (Tyler Almeida kick) 5:20, 1st
MU: Almeida 22 field goal 10:39, 2nd
MU: Jasper Collins 40 pass Kevin Burke (Almeida kick) 9:10, 2nd
MU: Chris Denton 23 pass Burke (Almeida kick) 7:38, 2nd
MU: Lattimore 4 run (Almeida kick) 9:58, 3rd
MU: Shannon Stewart 31 pass Burke (Almeida kick) 5:03, 3rd
MU: Roman Namdar 4 run (Almeida kick) 12:05, 4th
MU: Jack Nicholls 45 pass Namdar (Almeida kick) 7:10, 4th
Team Stats
Marietta: First downs: 10; Rushes-yards: 32-0; Passing yards: 90; Total yards: 90; Passing: 10-25-0-2; Punts: 9; Fumbles-lost: 1-1; Penalties-yards: 3-25
Mount Union: First downs: 23; Rushes-yards: 45-259; Passing yards: 237; Total yards: 596; Passing: 12-19; Punts: 3; Fumbles-lost: 2-1; Penalties-yards: 7-71
Individual stats
Marietta: Quincy Bell 7-19; Passing: Tom Fulton 10-25, 90 yards; Receiving: Kirby Harris 6-62, Sean Munfield 1-13
Mount Union: T.J. Lattimore 18-102; Passing: Kevin Burke 8-14, 163 yards; Receiving: Chris Denton 6-89
Next game: Marietta at Heidelberg, 9/29
Of the matchup, Austin said: "I had kept it to myself. They told me he was a freshman. I'd never heard of him since I've been here. I went to him at the end of the game and told him he was a good player, but I couldn't let a young boy outshine me, so I definitely had to pick it up"
These guys have such similar games, Saturday's contest had to feel like a Wednesday practice for the opposing defenses.
Priority No. 1 was to stop No. 1.
"Diggs is a tremendous athlete," WVU defensive coordinator Joe DeForest said. "I don't know if we'll face anybody better in the Big 12. The guy's got a chance to be really special. Whether it was in the kicking game or whether it was on offense or as a receiver when he catches the ball, he's a special kid."
It wasn't just that Diggs and Austin made big plays, it was that they made them at key times.
Diggs' first touchdown came after his team trailed 14-0 in the first quarter, when he hauled in a 42-yard pass from quarterback Perry Hills. He added a 56-yard scoring reception late in the fourth quarter that gave the Terps a ray of hope.
Austin scored two touchdowns in the second quarter of 24 and 34 yards that helped lift West Virginia from a slim 17-14 edge to a seemingly insurmountable 31-14 advantage.
"This was Tavon's best game," Holgorsen said. "He played fast and his energy was tremendous. He stepped up and played well in adversity."
In the game, Austin matched a school record set last week by teammate Stedman Bailey with his 13 catches, he tied Chris Henry at No. 2 all-time in career touchdown receptions with 22 (passing Bailey at 21), and moved up to second place on the all-time yardage receiving charts at 2,469. He passed both Shawn Foreman and Khori Ivy in that listing Saturday.
He also tied Bailey and David Saunders for most career 100-yard games in program history (nine) and now shows 208 catches for his career. Sanders finished with 206 in 2010.
