West Virginia is accustomed to scoring in bunches. What stood out after the season opener was an effort unseen from its defense in quite some time. The Mountaineers earned their first home shutout win in 13 years on Saturday, giving up just 186 yards in a 31-0 victory over Coastal Carolina. “Having a shutout is huge for this defense,” senior defensive lineman Chris Neild said. “This is the first shutout that I’ve been a part of since I’ve been playing here. We knew that we had to come out fast and make a statement and I think we did with this game.” The Mountaineers returned nine starters on defense this season, led by a three-man front consisting of Neild, Julian Miller and Scooter Berry, so the result against an FCS opponent wasn’t too surprising. West Virginia also rolled out a new defensive formation with four linemen on passing downs that included junior college transfer Bruce Irvin. Coastal Carolina quarterback Zach MacDowall hurried many of his passes and often threw to spots where he didn’t have any receivers. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-t25-wvirginia-rareshutout
