College football

Mountaineers salvage one for Big East

ATLANTA - Enough with those jokes about the Big East. West Virginia clearly deserved its place in the Bowl Championship Series.

Steve Slaton rushed for a game record 204 yards and three touchdowns to lead the No.11 Mountaineers to a 38-35 victory over eighth-ranked Georgia, which couldn't take advantage of the homefield edge Monday night in the first Sugar Bowl played outside of New Orleans.

West Virginia stunned the red-clad fans at the Georgia Dome by taking a 28-0 lead by the opening minute of the second quarter. The Bulldogs rallied, twice closing within a field goal in the second half, but they couldn't finish what would have been one of the best comebacks in bowl history.

Give most of the credit to Slaton, who wasn't even the Mountaineers' best freshman runner in fall camp and didn't crack the starting lineup until the sixth game of the season. Georgia had no answer for the speedy back, who squirted through big holes and left defenders such as All-American safety Greg Blue in the dust on two 52-yard touchdown runs.

Slaton eclipsed the Sugar Bowl rushing record of 202 yards by Pitt's Tony Dorsett in a national championship-clinching victory over Georgia in 1977.

But the Mountaineers saved their biggest surprise for the end. With 1:45 left Georgia was poised to get the ball back when West Virginia dropped back to punt on fourth and 6 at the Bulldogs 48. Phil Brady hauled in the long snap but took off running, gaining 10 yards on the fake and a game-clinching first down.

The last of Slaton's touchdowns gave the Mountaineers a seemingly comfortable 38-28 lead with 81/2 minutes left. D.J. Shockley brought Georgia back with his third touchdown pass, a 34-yarder to Bryan McClendon with 5:33 left, but never got his hands on the ball again.

The teams combined for 1,003 yards, much of it coming in a wild first half that ended with West Virginia holding a 31-21 lead.

The pace slowed in the third quarter. Georgia's defense held firm after Thomas Brown lost a fumble at the West Virginia 47 with 6:17 left. It was Georgia's third lost fumble of the game.

The highest-scoring half in the game's history was in 1992, when Notre Dame led Florida 32-12. The Irish went on to win 39-28.

The Big East champion Mountaineers had been criticized by some as unworthy of a BCS bid, and they played the opening quarter as if they had a point to prove.

Slaton raced 52 yards for a touchdown on his second carry, and the Mountaineers led 28-0 early in the second quarter after his second scoring run, an 18-yarder. He had 12 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

After running right for 11 yards on his first carry, Slaton broke free from the West Virginia 48 and was untouched through the left side of the line. Georgia safety Tra Battle was the only defender with a chance at tackling Slaton, but he missed on a diving attempt.

On the Mountaineers' second drive, quarterback Pat White completed a 30-yard pass to Brandon Myles and a 17-yarder to Darius Reynaud, setting up a 3-yard scoring toss to Reynaud.

Georgia tailback Danny Ware fumbled on his first carry when hit by Riverview High graduate Jahmile Addae. Dee McCann recovered for Virginia Tech at the Georgia 26. On second and 12 from the 13, White ran left before pitching to Reynaud on a reverse. Reynaud found open field and pushed the lead to 21-0.

Late in the quarter, Georgia's second turnover, a fumble by Shockley, gave West Virginia possession at the 50. Early in the second quarter, Slaton's second scoring run gave West Virginia a 28-point lead.

Georgia turned to its passing attack to get back into the game.

Shockley completed three passes on the Bulldogs' first scoring drive, which was capped by capped by Kregg Lumpkin's 34-yard scoring run.

After West Virginia's first punt, the Bulldogs moved 90 yards on six plays. Again, three passes from Shockley set up Brown's 52-yard touchdown run, cutting the Mountaineers' lead to 28-14.

[Last modified January 3, 2006, 02:00:11]