West Virginia sophomore quarterback Geno Smith has already enjoyed his coming out party this season.
 
In just his second game as a starter, Smith directed the then-No. 23 Mountaineers to two 96-plus yard drives in the fourth quarter to steal a victory away from Marshall.
 
“[Smith]’s developed a lot,” said WVU sophomore running back Tavon Austin. “He had to wait his turn just like I did. He’s finally getting to show what he has.”
 
After putting up pedestrian numbers and only managing to put six points on the board through three quarters, Smith caught fire.
 
In the final two drives of regulation — a 96-yard drive and a 98-yard drive — Smith completed 14 of 17 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown and carried the ball four times for 34 yards.
 
With 12 seconds remaining in regulation, Smith lofted a 5-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Will Johnson. Smith then capped off his impressive fourth quarter with a game-tying, two-point conversion to senior receiver Jock Sanders. West Virginia won the game in overtime.
 
“It was a huge confidence booster for myself and my teammates,” Smith said of the win. “I think it really showed us that if we stick together we can really pull off anything, and it also gave us confidence in one another.”
 
The 6-foot-3-inch quarterback could add another impressive mark to his résumé if he manages to pull off a victory on Saturday in Tiger Stadium.
 
If Smith is concerned about starting his first game in such a hostile environment, he’s not showing it.
 
“I haven’t really been faced with the challenges a Tiger Stadium throws at you,” Smith said. “I think we’ll have to make a couple adjustments here and there, but I think we’ll be fine with them.”
 
Smith leads a non-traditional West Virginia attack that has historically relied on the run to power its offense. But with Smith at the helm, the team’s passing game has taken off.
 
Dating back to the 2003 season, West Virginia hasn’t ranked higher than 90th in the country in passing yards and has been at or near the bottom of the Big East rankings in passing yards as well.
 
Three games into the 2010 season, West Virginia is tied with the nation’s 23rd-best passing attack — tops in the Big East. Smith has accumulated 800 passing yards and seven touchdowns while completing 70.3 percent of his passes.
 
“We are just taking what the defense gives us,” Smith said. “Teams are stacking the box because we have [senior running back] Noel Devine, and he’s a great runner, and it’s given us the offensive ability to throw the ball a little bit more. The defenses have been giving us the opportunity to change a little bit.”
 
Smith has a tough test in an LSU defense that is coming off a five-interception performance against Mississippi State and boasts all-world cornerback Patrick Peterson as the cornerstone of its secondary.
 
West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said Smith must know where Peterson is on the field at all times.
 
“Our quarterbacks, they know where [Peterson] is,” Stewart said. “You better know where [Peterson] is. He’s a shutdown guy. When you look up and you say, ‘Wow, how many balls [did] these guys catch?’ Well, they didn’t catch very many. Why? Well, because Peterson’s covering him.”
 
This won’t be Smith’s first showdown against Peterson, though. The Miramar, Fla., native played high school football against Peterson.
 
“In high school, Peterson was a local legend, you could say,” Smith said. “I mean, he was one of the top guys in the nation. Even then looking at him he had great size and speed. You knew he’d do good. Obviously, he’s proven that.”
 
Smith’s athleticism has given defenses fits this year, as evidenced by his 20- and 17-yard scrambles in the fourth quarter of the Marshall game. LSU coach Les Miles is eager for the challenges presented by the quarterback.
 
“Smith is very accurate. The things he throws, he throws extremely well,” Miles said. “He also has the ability to move his feet and be athletic. Any time you line up against a quarterback who has had success like he’s had, we’re very respectful of how he would attack our defense.”
 
 
 
 
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Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected].