A finale like that wasn't foreseen at the beginning of the season, with close wins over suspect opponents and a 17-point loss to the hated Virginia Tech Fighting Gobblers at home making some wonder if the team was going to show anything special the rest of the season, or merely cruise though the remaining schedule and finish with yet another appearance in a minor bowl.
However, the apparent blow of losing the starting quarterback in the Louisville game while down 17 points in the middle of the fourth quarter was actually the final spark the team needed, by putting redshirt freshman quarterback Pat White squarely in the saddle with the reins of the team firmly in hand.
In short order, the rookie QB led the young 'Eers through the rest of the season undefeated and into the Nokia Sugar Bowl against the University of Georgia, where the experts predicted yet another Big East meltdown like the previous year's 35-7 loss by Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl.
But this time the experts were wrong, and the cool, methodical 'Eers dissected their Southeastern Conference opponent in the first quarter for a 28-0 lead, then held on and scored when necessary to finish with an improbable 38-35 upset victory. With UGA making a comeback to within three points midway through the fourth quarter, true freshman Steve Slaton ripped off yet another 52-yard TD run, putting the 'Eers back out in front by ten ponts. A Georgia TD to pull back within three points was all the opponent could muster, as the 'Eers gambled everything on a fake punt on 4th-and-six that went for ten yards and a first down, and the West Virginia University Mountaineers wrapped up their biggest bowl win ever by getting yet another first down on a Pat White run as time expired.
The following pages are not what you might expect: a series of WVU highlight photos. No, they are something much better -- a selection of pictures showing the shock and dismay on the faces of the Bulldog Nation as the supposedly smaller, slower, inferior WVU Mountaineers ran roughshod through, around and over their beloved Southeastern Conference Champions.
Enjoy!!!