Chandler Jones swung his right arm toward the ground in celebration for his second straight sack of Geno Smith. The Syracuse defensive end finally had a reason to exult after missing the last five games with an injury.

The sacks were also an antidote for Smith — a solution Jones concocted by watching plenty of game tape of the West Virginia quarterback during his time away from the field.

‘Since I was out with my lower body injury, I knew I was coming out for the West Virginia game, so I’ve been scouting him since who knows when,’ Jones said.

‘We just game-planned it and we did a good job getting pressure on Geno, so I’m excited for that.’

Syracuse’s constant pressure on Smith shook up and disabled the high-powered West Virginia offense Friday. SU sacked the WVU quarterback four times and pushed him to the Carrier Dome turf countless other times en route to a 49-23 shocker over the No. 11 Mountaineers. West Virginia came into the game having allowed just seven sacks, but defensive coordinator Scott Shafer geared up a high-pressure game plan that was meant to take Smith out of his element, helping SU pick up its first Big East win of the season.

Smith did throw for 338 yards and two scores, but the Orange limited him to his worst percent completion rate of the season and forced him to throw two interceptions, including one on a pass to the end zone with WVU inside the Syracuse 10-yard line.

‘They really hit us in the mouth tonight,’ Smith said. ‘We didn’t respond very well. It’s tough. It hurts. I can’t lie and say it doesn’t hurt. I’m bleeding right now in my soul.’

Jones was a key reason for Smith’s long day. The senior defensive end was tabbed as one of the best pass rushers in the Big East, but hadn’t played since getting hurt in SU’s season opener against Wake Forest.

In addition to his two sacks, the extra attention Jones received allowed other Orange defensive players to break through and make plays.

‘Overall, I think everyone up front did a nice job,’ SU head coach Doug Marrone said. ‘I think at one time we had 11 or 12 hits on the quarterback, which was important for us.’

Deon Goggins said he could sense some change in Smith’s demeanor as the game continued. Compared to what the Orange saw on film, Smith was rattled and his calls and ability to survey the field were affected.

That was most evident as West Virginia attempted to keep up with Syracuse after a Dorian Graham kick-return touchdown put SU up 21-9 in the second quarter. The Mountaineers were putting a semblance of a drive together, reaching midfield.

But then the ‘Okie’ package, SU’s pressure defense, did what it’s designed to do.

Jeremi Wilkes came around the right side of the WVU offensive line and hit Smith as he tried to step up, knocking him to all fours. In came Jones as Smith attempted to get upright, smothering him to the ground.

Then on third-and-22, the very next play, Jones shed his blocker and clamped down on Smith again.

‘Chandler Jones came back pretty good, he looked pretty well,’ safety Phillip Thomas said. ‘He looked like he was Chandler Jones all over again.’

As the defense’s role in the second half became preventing a comeback, Jones’ role shifted to setting up plays for others. The third sack of Smith came on a play in which linebacker Siriki Diabate came around the right side of the offensive line and defensive tackle Jay Bromley busted through the middle to get to Smith.

After Jones’ sacks, Goggins said Jones thanked the interior linemen for pushing Smith to the outside. And after Diabate and Bromley got to Smith, they thanked Jones for forcing him to remain inside.

Smith was forced to stay in the pocket when he threw his second interception following pressure from Goggins just as he released the ball. The lame-duck throw resulted in what Thomas said was the easiest interception he’s ever had.

‘Like, I thought I was the receiver,’ Thomas said. ‘But you know some things happen, and I thank the big men up front, the front big guys.’

WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen said during the week Jones is as good as any defensive end in the Big East. And his addition to the SU defensive line made many of those things happen.

West Virginia, and Smith specifically, found out through experience on Friday.

‘They came in here with a little swagger,’ Jones said. ‘And it was our job to keep our composure and do what we had to do and come out with the win.’

mcooperj@syr.edu

Published on October 21, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr