MORGANTOWN - If you're into famous names, Milan Puskar Stadium was the place to be on Saturday.
Before the game, state native and country star Brad Paisley sang "Country Roads" to the sellout crowd of 61,174.
Being inducted into WVU's Sports Hall of Fame was coaching legend Bobby Bowden, who looked quite dapper for 85.
Yet also present was a man who continues making a name for himself. And at the end of West Virginia's 45-6 whitewash of the Big Ten's Maryland, he was still working the sideline. He was working defensive back Rasul Douglas. He was working safety Jeremy Tyler.
He wanted WVU's fifth interception on the day. And he got it when Tyler picked off Terrapin quarterback Daxx Garman.
Afterward, that man, Mountaineer defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, got a slap on the back. It was well deserved.
See, he's gone from Rich Rodriguez and back to get his coordinator title. Finally, Dana Holgorsen gave him the opportunity, and the decision is paying dividends.
West Virginia hassled poor starting Maryland quarterback Caleb Rowe into a 10-of-24 passing performance for 67 yards, no touchdowns and four picks. Garman mopped up yet was still only 4 of 9 with an interception.
The Mountaineer offense will no doubt dominate the game highlights. It did, after all, roll up the most first downs in the program's history.
But West Virginia also recorded the most lopsided victory in the rivalry with the Terrapins. One must also look long and hard at the defensive effort.
"Our [defensive] guys came out and played hard," Gibson said. "Played hard for three quarters. I then put some backup guys in and we gave up a touchdown. That was disappointing because we didn't get the shutout, but the ultimate goal is to win. We got that done and I thought the kids played hard."
No kidding. On a fourth-and-1 on the game's first series, Mountaineer boundary safety Karl Joseph set the tone by blowing up Terp runner Wes Brown on a pitch.
"We thought we had to throw the ball in order to be able to be successful today," said Maryland coach Randy Edsall. "We come out and move it. We get fourth-and-1 - and we get stopped. After that we couldn't get anything going."
No joke. There was Noble Nwachukwu batting a pass and forcing a Maryland punt from its own 8. Gibson once sent Dravon Henry on a blitz. Incompletion.
Strong Terrapin runner Brandon Ross once got loose for a 36-yard run. But WVU's Shaq Pettaway retaliated with a sack.
On and on it went, much to the dismay of Maryland. KJ Dillon hogtied a runner, followed by a Terrell Chestnut interception. Soon, Rushel Shell was finding the end zone.
Ross again broke free, this time for 55 yards and an apparent touchdown - except Chestnut ran him down, tripped up the back and caused a fumble in the end zone.
"[Chestnut] really had a good game," Gibson said. "That first group, those kids wanted to bounce back. I'm very proud of them."
Skyler Howard was terrific at QB again for WVU. And when he wasn't? After he suffered through a bad bounce interception? Dillon retaliated with an interception.
Perhaps the most representative sequence of Saturday's defensive performance, however, came after Dillon fumbled to Maryland on a kickoff return. On the very next play, Rowe aimed for Brown - and found Joseph in the end zone. Later, cornerback Daryl Worley added another pick in the end zone.
WVU's offense rolled. Its defense rocked.
Credit Gibson's aggressive play-calling. He knew Rowe had problems with turnovers in the last game. He knew the QB was fresh meat. He let the proverbial dogs out.
"Pressure," Gibson said. "Getting [Rowe] to release the ball. Plus, I thought the kids did a great job of catching the ball today. KJ [Dillon] fumbles the kickoff and Karl [Joseph] ended up covering for him. He made a hell of a play."
WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen said he thought his defense was "really good on third and fourth downs all day."
Indeed. WVU held Maryland to 4 of 14 third-down conversions. The Terrapins were 0 of 2 on fourth-down tries.
But there was more. UM was 0 of 1 in the red zone. The Mountaineers recorded three sacks. The Terrapin special teams, which were terrific early in the season, were non-factors.
Give Gibson credit. He's earning a name. Yes, the real WVU season starts next Saturday when the Mountaineers visit Oklahoma. But the defensive coordinator's unit is allowing an average of but 7.67 points after three games.
"Now it's time to move on to the Big 12," Gibson said. "We still have to clean up a couple mistakes. We had a couple open-field tackles we missed."
For a moment, though, the Van native enjoyed his surroundings. See, it wasn't Paisley singing "Country Roads" at game's end. It was the WVU crowd in celebration.
The DC smiled.
"Best song in the world," he said.