West Virginia scored a 66-0 win over LIU at Mountaineer Field on Saturday.

Here you can see how we rated the performance of the WVU:

the atmosphere – Saturday was a beautiful September afternoon in Morgantown, with temperatures that started in the mid-1970s at kick-off and plunged into the upper 1960s at the end of the game. With sunny skies and mild temperatures at the beginning, it was a perfect day for college football. Mountaineer Field wasn’t full (50,911), but still the crowd and atmosphere were far bigger than anything seen in 2020, when COVID restrictions and fan fears kept attendance numbers below 11,200 for each of the five home games. Unfortunately, the coronavirus hasn’t left us, but many WVU fans have still decided to be there for the home kick-off in West Virginia in 2021. While things are still not normal, at least for this afternoon, it felt like an old-fashioned football Saturday. Honoring the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including former mountaineering quarterback Chris Gray, who was in was killed in the Twin Towers, was a very beautiful, but also very emotional moment.

offense – It’s hard to fault too much with a Mountaineer offense that scored every time it touched football for the first 44:58 of the competition. That included four direct touchdown drives to start the first half, which ended with a well-executed two-minute march that resulted in a field goal that gave WVU a 38-0 lead at halftime. The mountaineering lead only grew from there. West Virginia was efficient in that first half, with scoring marches of 14 games for 80 yards, six games for 39 yards, 13 games for 69 yards, and 11 games for 56 yards. The biggest criticism of the Mountaineer Offensive was that their offensive didn’t get a big boost to open many big holes. The rushing attack by the WVU was only 74 yards at halftime. Granted, LIU stacked the box in an attempt to cap Leddie Brown, which allowed West Virginia to throw 233 yards in the first half and 362 yards for the game. The WVU ground play sparkled in the second half (127 yards) as backup quarterback Garrett Greene ran 98 yards and two touchdowns in his extended action. However, it would have been nice to see how the climbers would get their way against an FCS opponent in the early stages. Otherwise there is hardly anything to criticize about the offensive performance of the WVU on Saturday.

defense WVU’s defense limited the Sharks to a total of just 88 yards in the first half, except for a late drive of 65 yards in the second quarter that resulted in a botched / blocked field goal attempt and a late advance into Mountaineer territory , LIU never threatened to score. The Sharks offense went back much of the second half, accumulating seven yards in the last 30 minutes. West Virginia only held Long Island in 2 out of 13th situations. Obviously the WVU will play better offensives than the LIU, which ended in only 60 yards and 35 passing yards, but the West Virginia Defense did everything they could on this outing.

Special teams – If you start a game with a 90 yard kickoff return like Winston Wright did, the grades in this category are likely high. They are. Wright never got another chance because LIU didn’t start again. The Mountaineer specialty teams didn’t produce any more explosive pieces after Wright’s inaugural TD, but they were solid all around. Lance Dixon, the Penn State transfer who also started the linebacker at will, is a real force for the WVU’s kickoff coverage unit. The Mountaineers were so dominant at all stages that they never had to poke the game.

Coaching – The West Virginia coaches did pretty much everything they wanted on Saturday. Of course, they wanted to beat Long Island first, but considering that WVU have never lost to an FCS opponent, that was pretty much accepted from the start. In addition, the Mountaineers wanted to be a lot cleaner than they were at last week’s season opener in Maryland. Beyond that, and most importantly, WVU wanted to get a lot of player experience and the coaches did that … and more so as they put 79 players into the competition.

• With the win, the Mountaineers improved to 22-0 against FCS-level programs.

• WVU also won their 18th home game in a row. Overall, West Virginia ranks 101-20-6 in their home openers, including 21-1 since 2000.

• The Mountaineers also improved to 23-1 in their last 24 home games without a conference.

• Since 2000, the WVU is now 65-6 if they get at least 40 points in a game.

• Saturday’s game marked the first time West Virginia had eliminated an opponent since a 49-0 victory in Kansas on November 21, 2015.

• The Mountaineers’ 66 points were most of the Neal Brown era. It’s also the most goal West Virginia has scored in a game since a 70-63 win over Baylor on September 29, 2012.

• West Virginia didn’t have to poke a single time on Saturday. It’s only the fourth time in 97 years that WVU hasn’t been forced to poke a game – a 58:22 win over Rutgers in 1993, a 43-0 win at Syracuse in 1993, and a 13-6 win against VMI in 1956. Before that, the previous game without a punt in 1924 against Geneva was a 55-0 win.

• WVU’s 555 yards overall offensive marked the fourth time the Mountaineers won 500 or more in a game in the Neal Brown era.

• Redshirt newcomer linebacker Lance Dixon made his first career start on Saturday. He will be the sixth first time starter of the WVU this season.

• Junior wide receiver Winston Wright’s 90 yard kickoff return for a touchdown marked the first time the Mountaineers returned the opening kickoff for a score since Tavon Austin (98 yards) against Connecticut on October 24, 2009.

• It was also West Virginia’s first kickoff return for a touchdown since Wright posted a 95-yard score at Baylor on October 31, 2019.

• The Mountaineers have now scored a non-offensive touchdown that dates back to the 2011 season for 11 consecutive seasons.

• Junior running back Leddie Brown scored in a one-yard touchdown rush in the first quarter, marking his third rushing score of the year and 17th of his career.

• Brown added his second goal of the day later in the first quarter, a two-yard rush into the end zone. It was his fourth grand touchdown of the season and the 18th of his career. It also secured Brown’s seventh career multi-touchdown performance.

• West Virginia’s 21 points in the first quarter marked the first 20 point quarter since October 31, 2020 against Kansas State. The WVU also scored 21 points against LIU in the third quarter.

• Freshman quarterback Garrett Greene scored a goal in a 3-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter, marking his first career result.

• Greene scored his second touchdown of the game with a 13-yard run in the third quarter.

• Brown and Greene became the first mountaineering duo to score two quick touchdowns since Brown and Alec Sinkfield performed the feat against Eastern Kentucky on September 12, 2020.

• Second year wide receiver Sam James caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Jarret Doege, the red shirt’s senior quarterback, in the second quarter. It was James’ fifth touchdown reception of his career and his first in 2021.

• The pair scored again in the third quarter when James got a 15-yard touchdown from Doege. It marked James’ second result of the season and the sixth of his career.

• Doege also scored with Redshirt junior quarterback Sean Ryan for a 39-yard touchdown in the third quarter. It was Ryan’s first career touchdown.

• Doege (14-of-22 for 267 yards) completed three touchdown passes for the fourth time in his career in West Virginia.

• Second year kicker Casey Legg scored a 44-yard field goal after time ran out in the first half, his second of the season.

• Defensively, the Mountaineers LIU held a total offensive of 88 yards in the first half. From there, the Sharks were limited to seven yards offensive in the second half.

• LIU’s 95-yard offensive that night was the first time a WVU opponent failed to win 100 yards since October 12, 2002 against Rutgers (90 yards).

• In addition, West Virginia as a team finished 11 tackles for loss.

• Newbie defensive lineman Sean Martin bounced back from a fumble in the third quarter, well for the first of his career.

• Freshman running back A’varius Sparrow scored the first of his career in a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.