When Sports Were Played: Freshmen sparked WVU to ‘best win’ over Louisville
In this Comeback Week installment of “When Sports Were Played,” we go back to Oct. 15, 2005, and one of West Virginia football’s biggest wins. The Mountaineers, behind the play of two freshmen, overcame a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit against Louisville and the Observer-Reporter was there.
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Louisville learned a lesson during its first big road game in the Big East Conference.
The Cardinals’ sin? They failed to play a full four quarters.
Against West Virginia, at Milan Puskar Stadium, that’s about as smart as jumping on a pile of burning couches. And were it not for recent ordinances passed in Morgantown, Saturday night would have been all right for igniting.
In one of West Virginia’s wildest comebacks, the Mountaineers got a record six second-half touchdowns from freshman tailback Steve Slaton to pull out a harrowing 46-44 win in triple overtime that sent the Mountaineers’ faithful into an all-time tizzy.
West Virginia (3-0, 6-1) trailed Louisville 24-7, well into the fourth quarter. And, just like that, the Mountaineers are in charge of the Big East.
“I’ve never been in a game like this. This is definitely the best win we’ve had since I’ve been here,” West Virginia junior center Dan Mozes said. “I think you could tell Louisville thought they had the game won in the fourth quarter. Before, they were out there jumping around and talking. Then, they were kind of quiet.”
The Cardinals did plenty of talking during a first half they completely dominated.
Armed with the nation’s third highest-scoring offense and ranked No. 19 in all three major polls, Louisville (0-2, 4-2) owned a 17-0 lead before halftime as it chewed up 20:08 of the first-half clock.
West Virginia had minus-1 yard passing, and the Mountaineers looked lost. This called for a Knute Rockne-like locker room pep talk.
“As bad as we were offensively, I told them we were still in it,” West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said. “It was like a morgue in there. I don’t know if they believed me or not, but they shook their heads like they did.”
Mozes, a Washington High School graduate, believed and he rattled the linemen a bit. West Virginia responded by scoring on its first offensive possession of the third quarter on a 14-yard screen pass from Adam Bednarik to Slaton.
Louisville responded with one of four touchdowns from running back Michael Bush, the nation’s leading scorer. With the score 24-7 and Louisville controlling the clock, the Mountaineers needed a miracle.
Enter redshirt freshman quarterback Pat White.
Bednarik’s backup, White plays occasionally but was pressed into full-time duty when Bednarik left with a right foot sprain. With West Virginia’s chances to play in the Bowl Championship Series disappearing, White took charge and Slaton went off.
“I was calm, not nervous at all. I just wanted to get the job done,” said White, who engineered a similar comeback during his senior year at Daphne (Ala.) High School.
White came in after Bednarik was sacked for a 10-yard loss on a first down near midfield. On his first play, White rushed for six yards but, more importantly, his speed and passing gave Louisville’s aggressive defense several things to consider.
White continued the drive, converting a fourth-and-10 with a 17-yard run to the Cardinals’ 11. Two plays later, Slaton made it 24-14.
Then, an unusually conservative West Virginia dipped into its bag of tricks and Pat McAfee’s onside kick was recovered by Thandi Smith. Louisville wasn’t ready for it.
“At 17-7, we thought about the surprise kick,” Rodriguez admitted. “The second time, I thought, ‘Here we go. We’re on our way.'”
The drive led to a key field goal and the West Virginia defense held late, giving White another chance to operate with 3:41 remaining.
White, who passed for 49 yards and ran for 69 more, combined with Slaton on a 40-yard drive that Slaton capped with a 1-yard run with one minute left.
“You could tell Louisville was getting tired,” West Virginia linebacker Kevin McLee said. “We were ready to keep going.”
Finally, after trading touchdowns in the first two overtimes, the Mountaineers scored to start the third overtime. Slaton, who netted 188 yards, scored his school-record sixth touchdown from a yard out. On the mandatory two-point play, White rolled left out found wide receiver Dorrell Jalloh alone in the end zone.
Louisville scored on its third overtime possession, too. But on the two-point attempt, quarterback Brian Brohm was flushed from the pocket where safety Eric Wicks met him short of the end zone.
“This win speaks to the heart this team has,” Mozes said. “We believe in ourselves.”