West Virginia cornerback Brandon Hogan had one thing to say about receiver J.D. Woods following the Mountaineers’ 31-0 victory over Coastal Carolina.
“Touchdown man,” Hogan said.
He was referring to Woods’ 4-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter of West Virginia’s season-opening win. It was Woods’ first career reception, as well.
“I just felt like I had to go to my right spot first, then I’d hopefully get the ball,” Woods said. “When I’d saw Geno (Smith) release it (there were) all cheers, all smiles.”
After Woods’ touchdown, though, the cheers and smiles turned into moans and groans as the WVU offense struggled to put consistent drives together throughout the rest of the half.
The Chanticleers held WVU to 10 points in the first half.
“I thought the offense misfired early,” said WVU head coach Bill Stewart.
Stewart attributed the inconsistencies to first game jitters.
Sophomore quarterback Geno Smith, who started his first game, completed 13 of 17 passes for 129 yards in the first half.
He did have an interception near the end of the first half, which was returned for 37 yards by Chanticleers’ defensive back Dominique Davenport.
“I don’t want to make excuses for Geno,” Stewart said. “But this was his first complete game, and he’s a sophomore. The pick was a bad break. He’ll get better, and he’s my guy.”
Smith would finish the game 20-for-27 for 216 yards through the air.
WVU’s rushing attack was stalled for much of the first half. The Coastal Carolina defense held running back Noel Devine to just 58 yards on 16 carries. The front line of the defense closed up any holes that may have been open for Devine to run through.
After second half adjustments, Devine finished with 111 yards and one touchdown. It was his 16th 100-yard rushing performance for WVU.
“I’m proud of our defense,” said Coastal Carolina head coach David Bennett. “Our defense came out better than our offense, and they did a great job.”
The Mountaineers’ defense shutout an opponent for the first time since 2005. Stewart said it played with a “reckless abandonment.”
“I asked the players to do that, and they bought into it,” Stewart said. “I liked the way they flew around.”
Safety Terence Garvin led the squad with 10 tackles.
The crowning moment of the game came right before halftime when Brandon Hogan picked off CCU quarterback Zach MacDowall’s pass in the Chanticleers’ end zone.
Bennett admitted it was a game-changing play. The pick came on the possession after CCU picked off Smith.
“It took the life from them,” Hogan said. “We knew we had to make a stop somehow.”
The WVU defense held the Chanticleers to 186 yards of total offense.