West Virginia routs Rutgers

Associated Press

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.

West Virginia dismantled Rutgers, then came the difficult part — an hours-long wait to see if the Mountaineers could secure a third Bowl Championship Series berth in six seasons that seemed almost impossible only a few weeks ago.

Geno Smith threw for a career-high 352 yards, Ryan Clarke had three short touchdown runs and No. 23 West Virginia (9-3, 5-2) overcame turnover problems to beat the Scarlet Knights 35-14 on Saturday and clinch at least a share of the Big East title.

Connecticut earned the conference’s berth with a 19-16 win over South Florida later Saturday.

It marked the fifth shared or outright Big East title for the Mountaineers since 2003. Pittsburgh also clinched a share of the title with its 28-10 win over Cincinnati on Saturday.

On a day that West Virginia honored its 20 seniors in their final home game, it was the younger players doing much of the work.

Smith completed 23 of 28 passes, including 11 straight at one point. Fellow sophomore Tavon Austin caught six passes for 121 yards, catching a TD pass and running for another score. Julian Miller registered half of West Virginia’s six sacks.

“It’s my first Big East championship, so it feels good,” Austin said. “I’m having a good day.”

Smith now has 2,567 passing yards and 22 TDs this season. Both are the second most in school history behind Marc Bulger’s 3,607 yards and 31 TDs in 1998.

“We’ve got a sophomore quarterback that’s going to be phenomenal,” Stewart said.

West Virginia compiled a season-high 523 yards of offense, but miscues bit the Mountaineers in the subfreezing conditions. West Virginia fumbled the ball away three times inside the Rutgers 15, and their final drive of the first half ended in a blocked field goal.

“I hate turnovers,” Stewart said.