A win away from playing for the national championship, the Mountaineers were expected to roll over rival Pittsburgh (5-7) on their way to New Orleans for the Bowl Championship Series title game.
No way. Not in this unpredictable season, when nothing has gone according to plan and upsets have become so frequent the word itself has almost lost its meaning.
"I thought we were ready," said West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, speaking slowly and struggling to get through his postgame news conference. "We picked an awful time to have our worst offensive game in years."
No. 2 had already lost six times this season, five times to unranked teams. In a year when Appalachian State beat Michigan and 41-point underdog Stanford beat Southern California, West Virginia (10-2) losing the 100th Backyard Brawl as a four-touchdown favorite shouldn't be all that shocking.
Especially after the Mountaineers lost Heisman Trophy contender Pat White to a dislocated thumb in the second quarter. White tried to play in the fourth quarter, but he couldn't conjure a comeback.
When Pitt punter Dave Brytus ran out of the end zone for a safety on the final clock-killing play, West Virginia, a program that has won more games then any other in major college football without winning a national title, was done.
Fans sat stone faced. The Panthers did some dancing on the WV log at midfield. Some West Virginia players took offense and there was a push or two. Most of the Mountaineers just trudged off slowly.
Sitting at home in Columbus, Ohio, the Buckeyes got the last upset they needed to get themselves back in the national title game.
In fact, they got it twice. No. 1 Missouri lost in the Big 12 championship game 38-17 to Oklahoma, making the BCS a total mess heading into selection Sunday.
Almost a month ago, Ohio State was No. 1 and in control of the Bowl Championship Series title race when it lost at home 28-21 to Illinois. The Buckeyes beat Michigan a week later to lock up the Big Ten then watched week after week as the other contenders went down.
They needed one more to fall Saturday and West Virginia was first to oblige.
The Mountaineers will have to be content with their second BCS bid in the last three seasons and a trip to the Orange or Sugar bowls.
Their high-powered offense struggled even before White went out. They squandered two scoring opportunities in the first quarter, missing short field goals and finished with a season-low 183 yards and only nine first downs. That's usually a good quarter for West Virginia, which came in averaging 310 yards rushing and 42 points.
LeSean McCoy was the star on this night. The Pitt freshman ran for 148 yards on a tough 38 carries.
White ran for 41 yards, and was 5-for-10 passing for 50 yards. He was supposed to be done for the night after dislocating his thumb in the second quarter, but he reappeared in the fourth, taking snaps on the sideline after Conor Lee's 18-yard field goal made it 13-7 with 6:17 left.
The scene was set for a Hollywood ending and Noel Devine gave a lifeless and cold crowd a reason to cheer when he broke a 48-yard kick return to set West Virginia up at the Pitt 33.
White couldn't even lead the Mountaineers to a first down. Steve Slaton was stopped on a fourth-and-2.
Pitt couldn't keep the ball. McCoy scooted around the corner for a first down on third-and-long, but a late flag for holding wiped it out and gave the Mountaineers and White one more shot.
White hit Darius Reynaud for 17 yards to the 33, then he did what he does best, darting for 12 yards to the 21.
That drive died too, with White overthrowing a receiver in the end zone on fourth-and-long on West Virginia's final offensive play.
"The whole thing was just a nightmare," Rodriguez said. "It was a flat out nightmare."
Pitt, which had lost four of the last five to their fierce border rivals to the south, celebrated the biggest win of coach Dave Wannstedt's three lackluster seasons. Wannstedt was given a contract extension on Friday and he repaid the university with a BCS-busting victory.
Pittsburgh's Steve Malinchak (7) and teammates celebrate their 13-9 upset win over No.2 West Virginia
http://accesswdun.com/article/2007/12/204527