West Virginia defends the belt, 31–21, at home over Maryland.
AP poll, week 4: Maryland unranked at West Virginia No. 8 · No. 1 that week: Louisville. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
West Virginia came in 262 days into reign #282, which began with a win over Clemson, with 2 defenses already behind it; this was its third defense. West Virginia went on to defend it 2 more times before Texas Tech took it on October 13, 2012, 283 days after the reign began.
For Maryland this was its 13th shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before.
This is the only time Maryland and West Virginia have met with the belt on the line.
Recap
West Virginia's defense set the tone early, with Darwin Cook forcing a fumble on Maryland quarterback Perry Hills that Doug Rigg returned 51 yards for a touchdown just 7:14 into the game. The Mountaineers' offense kept pace through the arm of Geno Smith, who found Tavon Austin twice in the first quarter alone for scores of 44 and 24 yards, building a commanding early lead. Maryland clawed back behind Perry Hills' passing attack, with Stefon Diggs and Marcus Leak combining for three touchdown receptions to keep the Terrapins in striking distance. However, West Virginia sealed the victory when Smith connected with Austin again in the fourth quarter for a 34-yard touchdown, giving the Mountaineers their fourth touchdown pass to Austin on the night and their second belt defense of the season.
- Doug Rigg's 51-yard fumble return touchdown in Q1 to open the scoring and set the tone
- Tavon Austin's four touchdown receptions (44, 24, and 34 yards passing plus another score) establishing West Virginia's offensive dominance
- Perry Hills' three touchdown passes to overcome early deficits but ultimately fall short
- West Virginia's zero turnovers versus Maryland's three turnovers proving decisive in maintaining possession control
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.
Team stats
CFBD box scoreFull 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.
Key plays
CFBD play-by-play| When | Team | Yards | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 7:14 | Maryland | +0 yd | Perry Hills sacked by Darwin Cook, fumbled, forced by Darwin Cook, recovered by WVirg Doug Rigg at the WVirg 49, Doug Rigg for 51 yards, to the Mary 0 for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q1 7:14 | West Virginia | +0 yd | Tyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD. |
| Q1 4:46 | West Virginia | +34 yd | Geno Smith pass complete to Andrew Buie for 34 yards to the Mary 44 for a 1ST down. |
| Q1 4:24 | West Virginia | +44 yd | Geno Smith pass complete to Tavon Austin for 44 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q1 4:24 | West Virginia | +23 yd | Tyler Bitancurt kickoff for 55 yards returned by Stefon Diggs for 23 yards to the Mary 33. |
| Q1 4:24 | West Virginia | +0 yd | Tyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD. |
| Q1 1:54 | Maryland | +42 yd | Perry Hills pass complete to Stefon Diggs for 42 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q1 1:54 | Maryland | +0 yd | Brad Craddock extra point GOOD. |
| Q2 12:16 | Maryland | +0 yd | Brad Craddock extra point GOOD. |
| Q2 12:16 | Maryland | +12 yd | Perry Hills pass complete to Marcus Leak for 12 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 14:51 | Maryland | +29 yd | Perry Hills pass complete to Matt Furstenburg for 29 yards to the WVirg 30 for a 1ST down. |
| Q2 7:40 | West Virginia | +37 yd | Tyler Bitancurt 37 yard field goal GOOD. |
| Q2 7:40 | West Virginia | +25 yd | Tyler Bitancurt kickoff for 65 yards returned by Stefon Diggs for 25 yards to the Mary 25. |
| Q2 0:01 | Maryland | +42 yd | Brad Craddock 42 yard field goal MISSED. |
| Q3 15:00 | Maryland | +20 yd | Brad Craddock kickoff for 65 yards returned by Tavon Austin for 20 yards to the WVirg 20. |
| Q4 12:00 | Maryland | +25 yd | Perry Hills pass complete to Marcus Leak for 25 yards, fumbled, forced by Darwin Cook, recovered by WVirg Terence Garvin at the WVirg 33. |
| Q4 13:30 | Maryland | +21 yd | Perry Hills pass complete to Justus Pickett for 21 yards to the Mary 48 for a 1ST down. |
| Q4 8:18 | West Virginia | +34 yd | Geno Smith pass complete to Tavon Austin for 34 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q4 8:18 | West Virginia | +0 yd | Tyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD. |
| Q4 7:25 | Maryland | +56 yd | Perry Hills pass complete to Stefon Diggs for 56 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q4 7:25 | Maryland | +0 yd | Brad Craddock extra point GOOD. |
| Q4 4:31 | Maryland | +1 yd | Perry Hills pass intercepted by Wes Tonkery at the WVirg 28, returned for 1 yard to the WVirg 29. |
| Q2 0:52 | West Virginia | +24 yd | Geno Smith pass complete to Tavon Austin for 24 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 0:52 | West Virginia | +28 yd | Tyler Bitancurt kickoff for 52 yards returned by Albert Reid for 28 yards to the Mary 41. |
| Q2 0:52 | West Virginia | +0 yd | Tyler Bitancurt 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).
Player stats
CFBD player statsPassing
West Virginia
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geno Smith | 30/43 | 338 | 7.9 | 3 | 0 | 71.0 |
Maryland
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perry Hills | 20/29 | 305 | 10.5 | 3 | 1 | 44.5 |
Rushing
West Virginia
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Buie | 14 | 33 | 2.4 | 0 | 8 |
| Tavon Austin | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | 0 | 6 |
| Jordan Thompson | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 |
| Dustin Garrison | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 |
| Geno Smith | 5 | -15 | -3.0 | 0 | 6 |
Maryland
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Ross | 20 | 52 | 2.6 | 0 | 9 |
| Albert Reid | 4 | 20 | 5.0 | 0 | 15 |
| Devin Burns | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 0 | 17 |
| Wes Brown | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 2 |
| Perry Hills | 8 | -46 | -5.8 | 0 | 7 |
Receiving
West Virginia
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tavon Austin | 13 | 179 | 13.8 | 3 | 44 |
| Stedman Bailey | 6 | 55 | 9.2 | 0 | 15 |
| Andrew Buie | 3 | 45 | 15.0 | 0 | 34 |
| J.D. Woods | 5 | 44 | 8.8 | 0 | 12 |
| Jordan Thompson | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 | 12 |
| Ivan McCartney | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 |
Maryland
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stefon Diggs | 3 | 113 | 37.7 | 2 | 56 |
| Marcus Leak | 5 | 69 | 13.8 | 1 | 28 |
| Matt Furstenburg | 4 | 65 | 16.3 | 0 | 29 |
| Kevin Dorsey | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 0 | 15 |
| Justus Pickett | 4 | 27 | 6.8 | 0 | 21 |
| Brandon Ross | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Show more stats (5 more categories)
Interceptions
West Virginia
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wes Tonkery | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Maryland
No recorded stats in this category.
Kick Returns
West Virginia
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tavon Austin | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 20 | 0 |
| Stedman Bailey | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 17 | 0 |
Maryland
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stefon Diggs | 3 | 63 | 21.0 | 25 | 0 |
| Albert Reid | 1 | 28 | 28.0 | 28 | 0 |
Kicking
West Virginia
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Bitancurt | 1/1 | 100.0 | 37 | 4/4 | 7 |
Maryland
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brad Craddock | 0/1 | 0.0 | 0 | 3/3 | 3 |
Punt Returns
West Virginia
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tavon Austin | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 17 | 0 |
Maryland
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stefon Diggs | 4 | 25 | 6.3 | 17 | 0 |
Punting
West Virginia
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corey Smith | 7 | 312 | 44.6 | 0 | 0 | 54 |
Maryland
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Renfro | 6 | 275 | 45.8 | 0 | 0 | 55 |
Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 322660277) · This game in the downloadable dataset