September 22, 2012 Week 4 · Regular Season Belt defended

West Virginia defends the belt, 31–21, at home over Maryland.

Home · Defending Holder

West Virginia 31

Away · Challenger

Maryland 21

AI-Written

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.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

West VirginiaMaryland

Total yards363351

Rushing yards2546

Passing yards338305

First downs1918

3rd down conv.7/157/14

Turnovers03

Penalties–yards6–595–31

Time of possession28:3530:44

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 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).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Geno SmithWest Virginia	30/43	338	7.9	3	0	71.0
Perry HillsMaryland	20/29	305	10.5	3	1	44.5

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG
Andrew BuieWest Virginia	14	33	2.4	8
Tavon AustinWest Virginia	2	4	2.0	6
Jordan ThompsonWest Virginia	1	3	3.0	3
Dustin GarrisonWest Virginia	2	1	0.5	1
Geno SmithWest Virginia	5	-15	-3.0	6
Brandon RossMaryland	20	52	2.6	9
Albert ReidMaryland	4	20	5.0	15
Devin BurnsMaryland	1	17	17.0	17
Wes BrownMaryland	2	3	1.5	2
Perry HillsMaryland	8	-46	-5.8	7

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Tavon AustinWest Virginia	13	179	13.8	3	44
Stedman BaileyWest Virginia	6	55	9.2	0	15
Andrew BuieWest Virginia	3	45	15.0	0	34
J.D. WoodsWest Virginia	5	44	8.8	0	12
Jordan ThompsonWest Virginia	2	10	5.0	0	12
Ivan McCartneyWest Virginia	1	5	5.0	0	5
Stefon DiggsMaryland	3	113	37.7	2	56
Marcus LeakMaryland	5	69	13.8	1	28
Matt FurstenburgMaryland	4	65	16.3	0	29
Kevin DorseyMaryland	3	31	10.3	0	15
Justus PickettMaryland	4	27	6.8	0	21
Brandon RossMaryland	1	0	0.0	0	0

Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Wes TonkeryWest Virginia	1	1	0

Kick Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Tavon AustinWest Virginia	1	20	20.0	20
Stedman BaileyWest Virginia	1	17	17.0	17
Stefon DiggsMaryland	3	63	21.0	25
Albert ReidMaryland	1	28	28.0	28

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Tyler BitancurtWest Virginia	1/1	100.0	37	4/4	7
Brad CraddockMaryland	0/1	0.0	0	3/3	3

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Tavon AustinWest Virginia	3	22	7.3	17	0
Stefon DiggsMaryland	4	25	6.3	17	0

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Corey SmithWest Virginia	7	312	44.6	0	0	54
Nathan RenfroMaryland	6	275	45.8	0	0	55

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.

← James Madison at West Virginia Baylor at West Virginia →