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MORGANTOWN -- What a great night to beat the traffic!
Five minutes to play in the third quarter -- first down WVU at its 35-yard line -- leading Louisville by 17. What could go wrong in your own back yard?
As it turned out -- plenty. Couple fumbles, couple penalties, couple this, couple that. Tie game.
Yeah, the Mountaineers were threatening to throw away another one and watch their bowl stock take a major plunge in the process.
But not if Pat White could help it. Despite being knocked darned-near cuckoo a few minutes earlier, White recovered to lead a dramatic game-winning drive.
And on second and eight from the midfield stripe, White made a three-step drop intending to throw, then glanced ahead where daylight beckoned.
"All you can do is hold your breath when he takes off," groaned Cardinals' coach Steve Kragthorpe. White's 50-yard mad dash to the house left 61,000 breathless and finally secured a 38-31 victory which turned out to be much harder earned than previously expected.
"Pat got a pretty good hit. He was a little loopy for awhile," reported Rich Rodriguez. "But he came back and answered all the right questions. I asked Pat how he felt after the game and he said, 'Relieved!'"
"I wasn't coming out of that game," White advised afterward. Typical. For a kid not destined to play on future Sundays, White's as courageous as they come. He proved that last New Year's Day, nearly willing himself and WVU to a come from behind Gator Bowl victory over Georgia Tech.
You'd almost swear he's somehow immune to injury. Time and again at Jacksonville, White had to be helped to his feet by teammates only to slash and slant for a drive-saving first down. It was his option run which proved decisive in the Mountaineers 38-35 win over the Yellow Jackets.
The young man from Daphne, Alabama who first committed to nearby LSU before opting out to join Rodriguez' inventive spread attack admitted to reporters he was still feeling the effects even when fielding questions 30 minutes following Thursday's three-hour, 48-minute affair.
"I might still get checked out tonight," he noted.
While Louisville clamped down on Steve Slaton (17 carries, 60 yards), White again showed why he's one of college football's elite, passing for 181 yards and two scores and generating 147 more on the ground.
"We'd come a long way on defense and made some good progress," Kragthorpe observed. "But White just made a great individual play at the end of the game. That's the dimension he brings."
Three turnovers and 116 yards in penalties classify this one as mega-ugly. "As I told my team, I'd rather win ugly than lose pretty," Rodriguez smiled.
In all probability, Kragthorpe will take some heat for the Cardinals' remarkably inept clock management during the game's final minute. At no time was he ordered or did Cardinals' quarterback Brian Brohm opt to spike the ball attempting a 99-yard drive with precious seconds ticking off the clock.
Louisville got off nine plays in the final 1:36 but advanced no further than its own 41 before time expired. The game ended with Kragthorpe's club still in possession of a time out.
For a team tabbed as potential BCS title contenders in early September, the 5-5 Cards must now defeat either South Florida or Rutgers just to become bowl eligible.
West Virginia, obviously, realizes its postseason fate. Scouts from both the Fiesta and Sugar Bowls expressed keen interest in welcoming the Eers should they win out and finish 11-1.
There remains, of course, a slim possibility WVU could still manage a berth in the BCS title game, though those prospects appear unlikely at best.
For now, White has a few extra days to clear the cobwebs and prepare for next Saturday's (Nov. 17) conference game at Cincinnati.
"At least, we now know we can beat a quality opponent when we don't play that well. But I really don't want anymore (like these)," Rodriguez exclaimed. "We're gonna spend the next few days working on ball security."
REALITY CHECKING
THE Mountaineers are now 50-1 since 2000 when scoring 30 or more points in a game. The lone loss coming a year ago at Louisville, 44-34….
SAFETY Eric Wicks' 44-yard fumble return for a touchdown was WVU's first such feat since 2004 when Adam Lehnortt made a 21-yard TD runback against James Madison…
WHITE'S 328 total yards marked the fifth time in his career he topped the 300-yard mark in a single game. He posted his 12th career 100-yard rushing game…
BROHM became the second quarterback in Louisville history to throw for more than 10,000 yards in a career with Thursday night's 345-yard performance. Brohm also owns the Big East record for career 300-yard passing games with 18…
SIRENS rang out through various neighborhoods in close proximity to the stadium in the 30-60 minutes following Thursday's outcome. A traffic control officer explained that several fires had been reported….
Gibson can be reached at rgibson@timesleaderonline.com