On the game's opening drive, Jarrett Brown scrambled for a first down with his feet before getting popped by Marshall's Ashton Hall.

The ball popped loose, resulting in a Herd takeaway.

That wouldn't be the worst news for the Mountaineers.

Brown was slow to get up off the surface at Milan Puskar Stadium, and would not return to the game.

Enter true-freshman quarterback Eugene "Geno" Smith, who showed his age at times, but did enough to pace the Mountaineers to a 24-7 victory over Marshall.

For the rest of the first-half, it looked like it would be advantage: Marshall.

After a 15-yard face mask penalty breathed new life into that drive, the Herd lit the scoreboard first.

Brian Anderson tucked and ran, a 12-yard scoring scamper that capped off a 16-play drive.

The remainder of the first 30 minutes of play was filled with wasted opportunities for the Green and White.

Marshall couldn't take advantage of a turnover deep in WVU territory, following a Jock Sanders fumble on a punt return.

Julian Miller forced Darius Marshall to cough up the football inside the Mountaineers' 10 yard line, stealing away at least three points.

Then on 4th and 2 at the West Virginia 46, Kase Whitehead tried to convert a first down off a fake punt attempt, and fell inches short.

With under three minutes until the half, Brandon Hogan picked off a Brian Anderson pass, the first of two interceptions for Anderson.

West Virginia turned takeaways into three points, as Tyler Bitancurt split the pipes on a 32-yard field goal try to make it a 7-3 game before the break.

After the break, the Gold and Blue returned to the field a house afire.

Following a three-and-out by Marshall to open the second half, West Virginia cashed in on a 14-yard touchdown run by Noel Devine.

After trading possessions, Marshall seemed prime to at least even it up, driving inside the redzone as the third quarter came to a close.

A slew of miscues followed, including two poor snaps by Chad Schofield, and a fumble by Cody Slate that was recovered by J.T. Thomas.

The fourth quarter belonged entirely to WVU.

Geno Smith looked extremely sharp in leading a five-play, 73 yard drive, highlighted by a 33-yard touchdown strike to Alric Arnett.

On the day, Smith finished 15-of-21 throwing for 147 yards and one touchdown.

Marshall wouldn't muster another first down from there-on-out.

Meanwhile, the Mountaineers would hammer home one more score, a 9-yard scoring scamper by Devine, his second of the day, to provide the 24-7 final margin.

After starting slow, Devine finished with 103 rushing yards on 19 carries.

Darius Marshall, the second-leading rusher in the nation coming into this matchup, was held to 82 yards, toting the rock 25 times.

Cody Slate was the game's leading receiver, catching 10 passes for 102 yards.

Now, it's back to conference play for both teams.

West Virginia will stick around Morgantown to welcome U-Conn on Saturday, October 24th.

Marshall will return home to Huntington to host UAB on the same date.

Both games are slated for a noon kickoff.