The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2012 season / Reign #282 · Game 1,452 of 1,643
September 29, 2012 Week 5 · Regular Season Belt defended

West Virginia defends the belt, 70–63, at home over Baylor.

Home · Defending Holder
West VirginiaAP No. 9 70
AT
Away · Challenger
BaylorAP No. 25 63

AP poll, week 5: Baylor No. 25 at West Virginia No. 9 · No. 1 that week: Rutgers. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

West Virginia came in 269 days into reign #282, which began with a win over Clemson, with 3 defenses already behind it; this was its 4th defense. West Virginia went on to defend it 1 more time before Texas Tech took it on October 13, 2012, 283 days after the reign began.

For Baylor this was its 10th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 3 times before.

It was the first of 3 meetings between the two with the belt on the line; all-time West Virginia leads 2–1. Every meeting →

AI-Written

Recap

In a high-scoring affair in Morgantown, West Virginia held off a furious Baylor comeback to retain the College Football Belt with a 70-63 victory. The first quarter was a shootout, with both teams trading touchdowns, including a Geno Smith to J.D. Woods scoring strike with just 42 seconds remaining in the opening quarter that gave the Mountaineers a 21-20 lead. Baylor answered in the second quarter with back-to-back touchdown drives, taking a 35-28 lead on a Tevin Reese 65-yard scoring reception, but West Virginia responded with Smith's 47-yard touchdown pass to Stedman Bailey to retake control. West Virginia's dominant third-down conversion rate (12-15) and superior time of possession (33:55 to 25:04) proved decisive in wearing down the Bears despite Baylor's 700 yards of offense.

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 VirginiaBaylor
Total yards807700
Rushing yards151119
Passing yards656581
First downs3334
3rd down conv.12/1511/16
Turnovers01
Penalties–yards6–786–56
Time of possession33:5525:04

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
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 15:00West Virginia+27 ydTyler Bitancurt kickoff for 60 yards returned by Demetri Goodson for 27 yards to the Bayl 32.
Q2 14:11Baylor+27 ydNick Florence pass complete to Lanear Sampson for 27 yards to the WVirg 39 for a 1ST down.
Q2 11:49Baylor+33 ydAaron Jones 33 yard field goal MISSED.
Q2 6:55West Virginia+47 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 47 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 6:55West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q1 14:31Baylor+0 ydNick Florence pass intercepted by Darwin Cook at the WVirg 42, returned for no gain to the WVirg 42.
Q1 10:44West Virginia+50 ydTyler Bitancurt 50 yard field goal MISSED.
Q1 10:44West Virginia+50 ydField Goal Missed
Q1 9:12Baylor+1 ydJarred Salubi rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 9:12Baylor+0 ydAaron Jones extra point GOOD.
Q1 5:32West Virginia+1 ydAndrew Buie rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 5:32West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q1 5:32West Virginia+22 ydTyler Bitancurt kickoff for 56 yards returned by Demetri Goodson for 22 yards to the Bayl 46, WEST VIRGINIA penalty 15 yard Personal Foul on Troy Gloster accepted for a 1ST down.
Q1 2:39Baylor+7 ydGlasco Martin rush for 7 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 2:39Baylor+0 ydAaron Jones extra point GOOD.
Q1 2:39Baylor+31 ydAaron Jones kickoff for 61 yards returned by Tavon Austin for 31 yards to the WVirg 40.
Q1 0:42West Virginia+7 ydGeno Smith pass complete to J.D. Woods for 7 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 0:42West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q2 10:03West Virginia+45 ydCorey Smith punt for 45 yards, returned by Levi Norwood for 45 yards to the WVirg 23.
Q2 9:00Baylor+1 ydGlasco Martin rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 9:09Baylor+20 ydNick Florence pass complete to Terrance Williams for 20 yards to the WVirg 1 for a 1ST down.
Q2 9:00Baylor+0 ydAaron Jones extra point GOOD.
Q2 6:21Baylor+65 ydNick Florence pass complete to Tevin Reese for 65 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 6:21Baylor+0 ydAaron Jones extra point GOOD.
Q2 6:21Baylor+41 ydAaron Jones kickoff for 65 yards returned by Tavon Austin for 41 yards to the WVirg 41.
Q2 4:54West Virginia+20 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 20 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 4:54West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q2 4:54West Virginia+28 ydTyler Bitancurt kickoff for 64 yards returned by Antwan Goodley for 28 yards to the Bayl 29.
Q2 0:29West Virginia+2 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 1:51West Virginia+45 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Tavon Austin for 45 yards to the Bayl 38 for a 1ST down.
Q2 0:29West Virginia+21 ydTyler Bitancurt kickoff for 51 yards returned by Darryl Stonum for 21 yards to the Bayl 35.
Q2 0:29West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q2 0:00Baylor+67 ydNick Florence pass complete to Lanear Sampson for 67 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 0:00Baylor+0 ydAaron Jones extra point GOOD.
Q3 12:31West Virginia+45 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Tavon Austin for 45 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 12:31West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q3 10:20West Virginia+22 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 22 yards to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down.
Q3 9:13West Virginia+52 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Tavon Austin for 52 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 9:13West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q3 8:32Baylor+39 ydNick Florence pass complete to Tevin Reese for 39 yards to the WVirg 32 for a 1ST down.
Q3 7:56Baylor+46 ydAaron Jones 46 yard field goal MISSED.
Q3 5:16West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q3 6:21West Virginia+47 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 47 yards to the Bayl 4 for a 1ST down.
Q3 5:16West Virginia+1 ydAndrew Buie rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 3:18Baylor+37 ydNick Florence pass complete to Terrance Williams for 37 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 3:18Baylor+0 ydAaron Jones extra point GOOD.
Q4 14:14Baylor+1 ydNick Florence rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 14:14Baylor+0 ydAaron Jones extra point GOOD.
Q4 13:55West Virginia+87 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 87 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 13:55West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q4 13:55West Virginia+23 ydTyler Bitancurt kickoff for 64 yards returned by Antwan Goodley for 23 yards to the Bayl 14, BAYLOR penalty 10 yard Holding accepted.
Q4 12:05Baylor+44 ydNick Florence pass complete to Terrance Williams for 44 yards to the WVirg 10 for a 1ST down.
Q4 10:49Baylor+7 ydNick Florence pass complete to Antwan Goodley for 7 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 10:49Baylor+0 ydAaron Jones extra point GOOD.
Q4 5:55West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q4 5:55West Virginia+39 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 39 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 3:44Baylor+44 ydNick Florence pass complete to Terrance Williams for 44 yards to the WVirg 8 for a 1ST down.
Q4 3:08Baylor+8 ydNick Florence pass complete to Terrance Williams for 8 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 3:08Baylor+0 ydAaron Jones 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

West Virginia

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Geno Smith45/5165612.98098.6

Baylor

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Nick Florence29/4758112.45193.4

Rushing

West Virginia

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Andrew Buie25823.3216
Geno Smith5316.2014
Dustin Garrison3289.3017
J.D. Woods11616.0016
Jordan Thompson1-2-2.000

Baylor

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Jarred Salubi20753.8112
Glasco Martin13393.028
Lache Seastrunk5112.207
Nick Florence7-6-0.917

Receiving

West Virginia

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Stedman Bailey1330323.3587
Tavon Austin1421515.4252
J.D. Woods131148.8116
Jordan Thompson2189.0014
Dustin Garrison273.505
Andrew Buie1-1-1.000

Baylor

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Terrance Williams1731418.5250
Tevin Reese412030.0165
Lanear Sampson410927.3167
Levi Norwood22110.5011
Darryl Stonum11010.0010
Antwan Goodley177.017
Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

West Virginia

PlayerINTYDSTD
Darwin Cook100

Baylor

No recorded stats in this category.

Kick Returns

West Virginia

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Tavon Austin27236.0410
Jordan Thompson11212.0120

Baylor

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Antwan Goodley37023.3280
Demetri Goodson24924.5270
Darryl Stonum34715.7210

Kicking

West Virginia

PlayerPTSFGPCTLONGXP
Tyler Bitancurt100/10.0010/10

Baylor

PlayerPTSFGPCTLONGXP
Aaron Jones90/20.009/9

Punt Returns

West Virginia

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Tavon Austin1-1-1.000

Baylor

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Levi Norwood14545.0450

Punting

West Virginia

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Corey Smith14545.00045
Michael Molinari13131.00031

Baylor

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Spencer Roth29246.00054

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 322730277) · This game in the downloadable dataset