September 15, 2012 Week 3 · Regular Season Neutral site Belt defended

West Virginia defends the belt, 42–12, at a neutral site over James Madison.

Home · Defending Holder

West Virginia 42

Away · Challenger

James Madison 12

AI-Written

Recap

West Virginia's dynamic passing attack, led by Geno Smith and his trio of receivers Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, and Dante Campbell, overwhelmed James Madison from the opening moments. The Mountaineers scored touchdowns on four of their first five possessions, with Smith connecting with Bailey for scores of 9 and 3 yards in the first quarter alone, establishing complete offensive control. James Madison's defense could manage only a 33-yard field goal in the second quarter and a safety in the third quarter when Shawne Alston was tackled for a loss in the end zone, but the Dukes' struggling offense and one critical interception by Tyler Anderson in the third quarter sealed their fate. West Virginia's superior efficiency—zero turnovers compared to James Madison's one—and dominant passing game made this a one-sided affair that saw the belt stay firmly in Morgantown despite James Madison's time-of-possession advantage.

Geno Smith's first-quarter touchdown passes to Stedman Bailey (9 yards and 3 yards) established West Virginia's aerial dominance early
West Virginia's turnover-free performance versus James Madison's critical third-quarter interception by Tyler Anderson proved decisive in field position and momentum
The third-quarter safety when Shawne Alston was tackled for a loss in the end zone represented the only significant defensive stand for James Madison
Geno Smith's second-quarter 24-yard completion to Tavon Austin setting up a touchdown showed West Virginia's consistent ability to move the ball down the field

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

West VirginiaJames Madison

Total yards569300

Rushing yards121188

Passing yards448112

First downs2815

3rd down conv.4/86/19

Turnovers01

Penalties–yards3–257–41

Time of possession24:1935:31

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 10:16	West Virginia	+0 yd	Tyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q1 10:16	West Virginia	+20 yd	Corey Smith kickoff for 65 yards returned by Dejor Simmons, tackled by K.J. Dillon for 20 yards to the JMads 20, tackled by K.J. Dillon.
Q1 10:16	West Virginia	+2 yd	Shawne Alston rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 6:39	West Virginia	+36 yd	Geno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 36 yards to the JMads 9 for a 1ST down.
Q1 6:29	West Virginia	+9 yd	Geno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 9 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 6:29	West Virginia	+0 yd	Tyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q1 3:20	West Virginia	+35 yd	Geno Smith pass complete to Tavon Austin for 35 yards to the JMads 30 for a 1ST down.
Q1 1:38	West Virginia	+3 yd	Geno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 1:38	West Virginia	+0 yd	Tyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q2 10:15	West Virginia	+4 yd	Geno Smith pass complete to Dante Campbell for 4 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 11:03	West Virginia	+24 yd	Geno Smith pass complete to Tavon Austin for 24 yards to the JMads 3 for a 1ST down.
Q2 12:31	West Virginia	+29 yd	Geno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 29 yards to the JMads 46 for a 1ST down.
Q2 10:15	West Virginia	+20 yd	Corey Smith kickoff for 59 yards returned by Jeremiah Wilson for 20 yards to the JMads 26.
Q2 10:15	West Virginia	+0 yd	Tyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q2 1:02	James Madison	+33 yd	Cameron Starke 33 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 12:02	James Madison	+20 yd	Jordan Anderson rush for 20 yards to the WVirg 3 for a 1ST down.
Q3 13:13	James Madison	+24 yd	Jordan Anderson rush for 24 yards to the WVirg 28 for a 1ST down.
Q3 9:33	West Virginia	+27 yd	Corey Smith kickoff for 66 yards returned by Dejor Simmons for 27 yards to the JMads 41.
Q3 9:33	West Virginia	-1 yd	Shawne Alston rush for a loss of 1 yard to the WVirg 0 for a SAFETY.
Q3 4:37	West Virginia	+30 yd	Geno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 30 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 4:37	West Virginia	+36 yd	Corey Smith kickoff for 64 yards returned by Dejor Simmons for 36 yards to the JMads 37.
Q3 4:37	West Virginia	+0 yd	Tyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q3 1:42	James Madison	+0 yd	Justin Thorpe pass intercepted by Tyler Anderson at the WVirg 0, returned for no gain for a touchback.
Q3 3:35	James Madison	+33 yd	Justin Thorpe pass complete to Brian Barlow for 33 yards to the WVirg 24 for a 1ST down.
Q3 0:30	West Virginia	+30 yd	Geno Smith pass complete to Andrew Buie for 30 yards to the JMads 19 for a 1ST down.
Q4 14:56	West Virginia	+7 yd	Geno Smith pass complete to Tavon Austin for 7 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 14:56	West Virginia	+0 yd	Tyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q3 1:00	West Virginia	+27 yd	Geno Smith pass complete to Andrew Buie for 27 yards to the WVirg 47 for a 1ST down.
Q4 14:56	West Virginia	+20 yd	Corey Smith kickoff for 65 yards returned by Jeremiah Wilson for 20 yards to the JMads 20.
Q4 0:49	James Madison	+20 yd	Jauan Latney rush for 20 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 0:49	James Madison	+0 yd	Cameron Starke extra point GOOD.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Geno SmithWest Virginia	34/39	411	10.5	5	0	94.0
Paul MillardWest Virginia	4/9	37	4.1	0	0	3.5
Justin ThorpeJames Madison	6/13	71	5.5	0	1	0.0
Michael BirdsongJames Madison	4/10	41	4.1	0	0	0.0

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Shawne AlstonWest Virginia	14	62	4.4	1	19
Andrew BuieWest Virginia	7	31	4.4	0	9
Geno SmithWest Virginia	2	18	9.0	0	11
Tavon AustinWest Virginia	1	14	14.0	0	14
Jordan AndersonJames Madison	17	75	4.4	0	24
Justin ThorpeJames Madison	14	44	3.1	0	15
Jauan LatneyJames Madison	3	24	8.0	1	20
Hykeem BrodieJames Madison	8	24	3.0	0	9
Michael BirdsongJames Madison	4	13	3.3	0	6
Dejor SimmonsJames Madison	3	8	2.7	0	12

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Stedman BaileyWest Virginia	13	173	13.3	3	36
Tavon AustinWest Virginia	11	113	10.3	1	35
Andrew BuieWest Virginia	5	90	18.0	0	30
J.D. WoodsWest Virginia	2	27	13.5	0	15
Ivan McCartneyWest Virginia	3	19	6.3	0	15
Connor ArliaWest Virginia	1	14	14.0	0	14
Kj MyersWest Virginia	1	6	6.0	0	6
Dante CampbellWest Virginia	1	4	4.0	1	4
Jordan ThompsonWest Virginia	1	2	2.0	0	2
Brian BarlowJames Madison	2	46	23.0	0	33
Marquis WoodyardJames Madison	3	24	8.0	0	10
Ryan DixonJames Madison	3	19	6.3	0	8
Hykeem BrodieJames Madison	1	14	14.0	0	14
Derek HartJames Madison	1	9	9.0	0	9

Show more stats (4 more categories)

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Tyler AndersonWest Virginia	1	0	0

Kick Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Stedman BaileyWest Virginia	1	19	19.0	19
Tavon AustinWest Virginia	1	8	8.0	8
Dejor SimmonsJames Madison	4	101	25.3	36
Jeremiah WilsonJames Madison	3	58	19.3	20

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Tyler BitancurtWest Virginia	0/0	0.0	0	6/6	6
Cameron StarkeJames Madison	1/1	100.0	33	1/1	4

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Corey SmithWest Virginia	1	24	24.0	0	0	24
David SkahnJames Madison	7	282	40.3	0	0	49

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back.

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