The Result
UConn had no answer for Pat White and the West Virginia rushing game as the Mountaineers beat the Huskies 66-21 to win the Big East title and a berth in the BCS. The Big East title was the 4th in 5 years for the Mountaineers.
West Virginia showed UConn what big time football was all about today as they dominated the UConn defensive line as they rushed for 516 yards on the ground. 7 of West Virginia’s 9 touchdowns came on the ground.
UConn finishes the season at 9-3 overall and 5-2 in the Big East. West Virginia is 10-1 overall and 6-1 in the Big East. They have one game remaining against Pittsburgh.
Scoring Plays
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Score |
| #20 UConn | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| #3 West Virginia | 14 | 10 | 21 | 21 | 66 |
1st Quarter
- CON – Lorenzen 7-yard pass to Kanuch – kick good – UConn 7 WVU 0
- WVU – White 3-yard run – kick good – Game tied at 7
WVU – White 14-yard pass to Reynaud – kick good – WVU 14 UConn 7
2nd Quarter
- WVU – McAfee 46-yard field goal – WVU 17 UConn 7
- WVU – Slaton 31-yard rush – kick good – WVU 24 UConn 7
- CON – Brown 2-yard rush – kick good – WVU 24 UConn 14
3rd Quarter
- WVU – White 24-yard rush – kick good – WVU 31 UConn 14
- WVU – Devine 25-yard rush – kick good – WVU 38 UConn 14
- WVU – Williams fumble recovery in end zone – kick good – WVU 45 UConn 14
4th Quarter
- WVU – Slaton 3-yard rush – kick good – WVU 52 UConn 14
- WVU – Sanders 1-yard rush – kick good – WVU 59 UConn 14
- WVU – Collington 1-yard rush – kick good – WVU 66 UConn 14
- CON – Brown 2-yard pass to Davis – WVU 66 UConn 21
Offensive Player of the Game
West Virginia QB Pat White was 9 of 13 for 107 yards and 1 touchdown and he rushed for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Defensive Player of the Game
West Virginia LB Mortty Ivy had 11 tackles, 3 of them for a loss, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble.
Turning Point(s) of the Game
Fumble by Jaspar Howard gives West Virginia the ball UConn’s 14 and they score on the first play.
Any chance of a comeback in the 3rd quarter was lost when the UConn center snapped the ball with a lot of velocity that hit Lorenzen and WVU recovered for a touchdown.
Offensive Notes
UConn was called for a false start penalty deep in their own end, probably due to the crowd noise.
Lorenzen hits Kanuch for a 29-yard pass completion and then Andre Dixon takes it 17 yards on the ground
Lorenzen hits Terrence Jeffers for 27 yards to set up first and goal at WVU 6-yard line.
Lorenzen hits Larry Taylor for 15-yards on 3rd down.
Lorenzen gets sacked on 3rd and 1 to force a punt.
Lorenzen throws behind Jeffers on 3rd and 2 forcing another punt.
Donald Brown rushes for 8 yards and then followed it with a 11-yard run and then a 10-yard run.
On 3rd and short, Lorenzen has ball stripped from him and ball is recovered by WVU.
Brown runs one for 44-yards.
Lorenzen hits Brouse for 11 yards and a first down.
Lorenzen scampers for a 11-yards and a first down.
UConn center snaps the ball with a lot of velocity that hits Lorenzen and West Virginia recovers it for a touchdown in the end zone.
Defensive Notes
Danny Lansanah gets Steve Slaton for two-yard loss on an option play. Then the Huskies give up a 50-yard pass.
Lansanah stuffs Noel Devine for a 5-yard loss.
Cody Brown stops Slaton behind the line on 3rd and short to force a punt.
After forcing WVU into a 3rd and 15, the defense couldn’t tackle White as he scampered 24-yards for a touchdown.
Lansanah picked off White deep in UConn territory.
Special Teams Notes
Tyvon Branch’s kickoff return to start the game was called back by blocking in the back penalty.
Jaspar Howard fumbles a punt return that’s recovered by WVU on UConn’s 14-yard line.
WVU punter Pat McAfee booms a 70-yard punt over the head of Larry Taylor.
The return after the WVU field goal in the 2nd qtr was brought back due to UConn’s second block-in-the-back penalty.
Coaching Decisions
UConn had the ball at West Virginia’s 36-yard line and they decided to punt instead of going for a long field goal.
UConn had it 3rd and 5 down 24 points and they decide to go deep for an incomplete pass.
Injuries
3rd qtr – UConn’s Brad Kanuch was shaken up after a hard hit. He returned on the next series.
4th qtr – Pat White left the game with dizziness. It didn’t matter as his team bent UConn over and pounded them.
The Officials
The officials had no bearing on the outcome of this game unless they could tackle Pat White and crew.
Game Notes
Donald Brown carried the ball 22 times for 129 yards and 1 touchdown for the Huskies.
Danny Lansanah had 7 tackles and 1 interception.
West Virginia needs to beat Pittsburgh next week for a possible chance at the National Championship game in New Orleans.
Noel Devine rushed 11 times for 118 yards for the Mountaineers.
Scott Lutrus led the Huskies with 9 tackles.
West Virginia had over 600 yards of total offense.
West Virginia scored 42 unanswered points before UConn got a sympathy touchdown at the end of the game.
After a season where they committed very few turnovers, the Huskies committed too many today and that’s what cost them.
UConn allowed 21 points off of turnovers today. Entering the game, UConn had allowed 21 points off of turnovers all season and never more than seven in a single contest.
The Huskies have now scored on their opening drive of eight out of 12 games this year.
Today’s game marks the first time that UConn has allowed at least 50 points in the Division I-A era.
I expected UConn to play much better today but you can see that they still have a long way to go to compete at the highest level in the Big East and in Division 1.
Highlights of the whooping.
Big East Games and Results
South Florida 48 Pittsburgh 37
Cincinnati 52 Syracuse 31
Next Week’s Opponent
UConn is off until their bowl game which is undetermined right now. Odds are it will be the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, NC unless Syracuse beats Cincinnati tonight, then they could possibly go to the Sun Bowl.
