W. Virginia holds off No. 17 Pitt

W. Virginia 24

Pittsburgh 17

PITTSBURGH--West Virginia quarterback Rasheed Marshall did notbeat Pitt's Rod Rutherford in three high school match-ups. Never cameclose. So he saved his best performance back home for a much biggergame.

West Virginia turned two Rutherford turnovers into touchdowns andthe No. 24 Mountaineers, likely headed to the Gator Bowl, held offNo. 17 Pittsburgh 24-17 on Saturday with another late defensivestand.

Led by Marshall's playmaking and Avon Cobourne's running, theMountaineers (9-3, 6-1 in Big East) completed a remarkable turnaroundfrom a 3-8 season, secured at least second place in the Big East andbeat their Backyard Brawl rival for the first time in three years.

Marshall, whose Pittsburgh high school team was outscored 138-0 inthe three games against Rutherford's, ran for a touchdown, threw foranother and set up a score with a 25-yard reception as West Virginiabeat Pitt for the eighth time in 11 years.

"We kept telling Rasheed to settle down, that he was at home andto just settle down and make plays," running back Quincy Wilson said."We kept running the ball and running it and running it, and thatmade the [other] plays work."

Afterward, the two quarterbacks hugged at midfield.

"It wasn't me against Rod, just like it wasn't in high school,"Marshall said. "I told him to keep his head up because I know thiswas a tough game to lose."

The Mountaineers are expected to play North Carolina State in theGator Bowl on Jan. 1, with Pitt now ticketed for the Continental TireBowl.

The Panthers (8-4, 5-2), denied their first nine-victory season in20 years, can blame only themselves for losing before their biggesthome crowd in 64 years. They committed four turnovers to none forWest Virginia. They also were outrushed 231-195 despite BrandonMiree's 121 yards.

With the score tied 10-10, Pitt turned the ball over on threeconsecutive possessions late in the second quarter and early in thethird, and West Virginia capitalized on the mistakes to surge to a 24-10 lead.

Still, Pittsburgh had a chance to send the game into overtime,driving from its own 7 to the West Virginia 11 as time wound down.But Rutherford was sacked on first down, then threw three consecutiveincompletions into the end zone from the 14 as snow began to fall andthe winds picked up. He had Larry Fitzgerald open on third down, butthe receiver slipped just as the ball arrived, and he couldn't makethe catch.

"There was no excuse," Fitzgerald said. "It hit me in the hands,and I didn't make the play."