West Virginia loses on homecoming

Typically cause for celebration, No. 20 West Virginia's homecoming game against Syracuse was one the school would like to forget about.

The Mountaineers, favored by two touchdowns, lost 19-14 in embarrassing fashion in front of a stunned crowd of 58,122.

"I'm not at all pleased on how we played intellectually. I'm not pleased with the four quarters of the offense and not pleased with the four quarters of the defense. It was a total team defeat," West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said.

After scoring 14 points on its first three possessions, West Virginia simply could not get it going the rest of the game. The Mountaineers threw two interceptions, punted six times and turned the ball over on downs after going up 14-10.

The loss drops West Virginia to 5-2, and out of the Top 25 rankings. It pushed Syracuse to 5-2, and second in the Big East. The Orange have guaranteed their winningest season since 2004, and one more win would guarantee bowl eligibility, their first since the Champs Sports Bowl in 2004.

"At the end of the year, you might say that this was a turning point or that this really helped us. But we have two Big East wins and five wins under our belt, but we're not even near where our goal is — a winning season and a bowl game," Syracuse coach Doug Marrone said.