Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Remember the playground game called "Keep Away?" Perhaps West Virginia and Syracuse will stage its opposite this week with a little round of "Give Away."

Their recent histories suggest it's possible. The Mountaineers have given the ball away 10 times in their last two games. The Orange, meanwhile, had seven turnovers last week at home against South Florida.

Of the two, West Virginia seems to have the more ingrained problem, as fumbles and interceptions have consistently plagued the offense. The Mountaineers' minus-8 turnover is third-worst in the FBS.

What disappoints head coach Bill Stewart is the fact that ball security was stressed for more than a week after a six-turnover disaster at Auburn, and the team still lost the ball four times in the first half against Colorado.

Stewart said he would make the players run for their mistakes and would spend much of this week in practice doing drills where players and coaches try to punch the ball free. But one thing he's not going to do is scream and yell at those who have committed the offenses.

"The last thing you tell a guy after he drops a pass is scream in his face like everyone wants to see," Stewart said. "That’s the dumbest thing a coach could do. What you do is pull him aside and tell him to strain himself a bit more mentally and that he is letting himself, his team and the school down. You tell him to play tougher."

He is walking a fine line, because he wants the offense to be aggressive by taking shots down the field and fighting for extra yardage on runs. The Mountaineers have some of the fastest and most talented skill players in the Big East, and he doesn't want them slowed down because they're afraid to make a mistake.

"I have to just get in these guys’ heads and tell them to play their game, but just be more responsible," he said. "I want the team to put the ball in their arms and run. Don’t try to make the Superman play."

Stewart said he called several coaches this weekend to ask them how they deal with turnover problems. One who has had to figure that out this week as well is Doug Marrone.

Syracuse doubled its season total for turnovers on Saturday, including five interceptions from Greg Paulus. Marrone said turnovers are constantly addressed but that he would have to spend more time on it this week.

"We'll take five minutes of practice time and just specifically say this is ball security," Marrone said. "We work on that in individual drills, but now as a whole team for those five minutes we'll focus on ball security."

After studying the film, Marrone said the mistakes were a combination of bad decisions and players trying to do too much. He pointed to running back Delone Carter's fumble in the first quarter.

"He hasn't fumbled the ball all spring, all fall, during practice or camp," Marrone said.

Only 17 times in 139 games as Duke starting point guard did Paulus have five or more turnovers. Two of the interceptions weren't his fault, Marrone said, as Paulus had his arm hit on one and threw to the right spot on a screen play on another. One of his interceptions was a great play by a South Florida defensive back, while the other two were bad decisions on scrambles, Marrone said.

Marrone is confident the turnover spree against South Florida was more of a one-time thing than a trend. If not, Syracuse and West Virginia could engage in a battle of "Give Away" on Saturday.