After 8 Touchdowns, West Virginia's Smith Is His Only Critic MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - By his estimation, Geno Smith had erred. He had six incompletions. West Virginia did not score on its first drive and stalled, briefly, on others. He forced passes when he could have scrambled. Generally, he could have made better decisions. Hardly anyone seemed to notice, though, especially not those here smiling and singing John Denver's "Country Roads" when, because of Smith, the Mountaineers had won. The West Virginia fans had gathered for what Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby had called "the big show in the state." The stands were striped with gold and blue. It was homecoming, and the Mountaineers" inaugural Big 12 conference game, their only chance to make a first impression. Touchdowns were expected, defense not. It seemed to be a big show, not to be seriously appraised. And Saturday afternoon proved fun and frivolous as West Virginia won, 70-63, over No. 25 Baylor (3-1, 0-1). On center stage, Smith, the quarterback of the ninth-ranked Mountaineers (4-0, 1-0), made his best bid this season for the Heisman Trophy. Its winners often need style as much as substance, a few big shows perhaps. "He was 45 of 51 for 656 yards and 8 touchdowns and zero interceptions," West Virginia Coach Dana Holgorsen said. Can you please explain to me how you can improve on that? Smith would try. His performance was not enough, he said. "I could care less about the Heisman Trophy," he said, adding, "I don't want to just hang my head on one game." Holgorsen said: "I worry about that with him at times. He expects perfection, which, perfection isn't possible. On Saturday, Smith came close, and he had to. Baylor's starting quarterback, Nick Florence, playing in his first conference game since replacing the Heisman winner Robert Griffin III, almost kept up, throwing for 581 yards. So the game devolved into two top-10 scoring offenses taking turns. Never mind the defenses - the first quarter's pace left those watching breathless. The four scoring drives averaged 2 minutes 30 seconds. Running backs burst through holes untouched. Wide receivers ran routes uninterrupted. Quarterbacks surveyed the field undisturbed. The offensive skill on display felt cheapened, though, by each defense's ineptitude. The crowd barely had time to applaud the West Virginia offense before the defense allowed another score. In the space of three snaps in the second quarter, the spectacle became comical. First, Smith dropped a 47-yard pass over receiver Stedman Bailey's shoulder, and past two chasing defenders, for a touchdown. Two plays later, Florence hit his receiver Tevin Reese in stride for a 65-yard score. But the crowd had no need to worry: five plays later, Smith threw another touchdown to Bailey to tie the score, 28-28. With 59 seconds left in the second quarter, and West Virginia driving, Baylor called timeout, indicating the Bears believed there was still enough time to gain possession and score. Smith soon found Bailey for a touchdown for a third time. But shortly afterward, on the last play of the first half, Florence found a wide-open Lanear Sampson, who scored, and somehow it was 35-35. After the game, Mickey Furfari, a reporter who has covered West Virginia sports for decades, asked Holgorsen whether this was typical of all Big 12 games. It was not, Holgorsen began to say, but before he could finish, Furfari interrupted: "You mean, we'll see defense before the season's over?" Sheepishly, Holgorsen bit his lower lip. In the second half, with the benefit of time, skilled receivers and Holgorsen's Air Raid offense, Smith played as he might in his backyard. The game slid further into pitch and catch with his receivers Bailey, who attended high school with Smith; Tavon Austin; and J. D. Woods. Combined, they caught 40 passes. "It would mean everything in the world to me" if Smith won the Heisman, Austin said. "Even if I don't get it, if Stedman don't get it, if Geno gets it, we're good," he said, adding, "We got to keep winning, keep protecting him, and hopefully keep getting his stats up." Smith deflected praise, echoing what he said last week, that winning the Heisman "weighs no burden on my conscience." A performance like his on Saturday may complicate that. But as Holgorsen said, Smith watches more film than his coach and criticizes himself more than his coach. "I oftentimes think I'm going nuts," Smith said last week. There was little to fault in his two touchdowns to Austin - a 45-yarder and a 52-yarder - in the third quarter or his late 39-yard touchdown strike to Bailey. Those beautiful, arcing passes stood out to Holgorsen, his teammates and the fans, while Smith would remember the duds that no one else would.