Geno Smith Leads No. 21 West Virginia to Comfortable Win Against Maryland

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginia picked up its series with Maryland right where it left it three years ago -- with a comfortable victory.

Geno Smith threw four touchdown passes and Baltimore native Tavon Austin had seven catches for 106 yards and two scores as the No. 21 Mountaineers blistered their border rival 31-17 at Milan Puskar Stadium.

West Virginia (3-0) bolted to a 21-0 lead in the first half, holding Maryland to 63 yards before the break. The Mountaineers added a touchdown just after halftime, then held on as Maryland (2-1) rattled off 17 unanswered points.

Torrey Smith caught two touchdowns for the Terrapins, who were denied their first 3-0 start since 2001.

The teams met every year from 1980 to 2007, but the series went on hiatus when Maryland opted to play an early-season home-and-home with California. The recent meetings were defined by West Virginia's dominant rushing attack, with the Mountaineers winning the last four games before the rivalry's break.

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While the impressive first half -- just eight days after West Virginia escaped Marshall with an overtime victory -- was crucial to the victory, so too was a lengthy drive that consumed more than eight minutes in the fourth quarter after Maryland closed within 28-17. Tyler Bitancurt made a 23-yarde field goal with 3:11 to play to cap the possession.

Junior quarterback Jamarr Robinson played nearly the entire game for Maryland, which planned to use both Robinson and redshirt freshman Danny O'Brien. However, O'Brien, who was knocked out of last week's rout of Morgan State with a sprained ankle, appeared for one snap at the end of the first half and absorbed a punishing hit from the Mountaineers' Bruce Irvin. O'Brien did not return.

West Virginia had eight sacks, the most Maryland has allowed in a game in coach Ralph Friedgen's 10 seasons.