The Mountaineers, who had lost 11 of their last 12 bowl games, jumped on Georgia with two touchdowns apiece by Slaton and Darius Reynaud.

Slaton showed his speed on the first of his 52-yard runs, which capped West Virginia’s opening possession. His other first-half score came on an 18-yard burst through a tiny hole, the freshman prancing across the goal line in front of Blue.

Reynaud caught a 3-yard pass from Pat White, then caught the Bulldogs off guard on a 13-yard reverse that left all but a couple of defenders running the wrong way.

But Georgia didn’t fold.

Kregg Lumpkin got the Bulldogs on the scoreboard with a 34-yard touchdown run, sparking a little life in the mostly Georgia crowd. They were roaring by the time the teams trotted to the locker room, having cut the deficit to a more manageable 10 points.

Thomas Brown had a 52-yard touchdown run for the Bulldogs, getting loose after appearing stuffed at the line by the Mountaineers.

West Virginia kept the big plays rolling when fullback Owen Schmitt, a transfer from Division III Wisconsin-River Falls, rumbled for 54 yards on a third-and-1 play. But the Georgia defense finally arrived, stuffing Slaton for a 3-yard loss and forcing the Mountaineers to settle for Pat McAfee’s 27-yard field goal.

Georgia reclaimed the momentum before halftime with an 11-play, 80-yard drive. The Bulldogs converted on fourth-and-1 at their own 42, then Shockley bailed them out on third-and-10 by scrambling away from pressure and delivering a 32-yard pass to Mario Raley.

Shockley followed with a 15-yard run, then connected with Leonard Pope on a 4-yard touchdown pass with 58 seconds left in the wild half.

With 62 points by halftime, the teams set both Sugar Bowl and BCS records for one half. The biggest difference was turnovers; Shockley and Danny Ware both fumbled the ball away, and the Mountaineers capitalized each time with TDs.

Late in the third quarter, Shockley tossed a 34-yard touchdown to A.J. Bryant, pulling the Bulldogs to 31-28. They never got any closer.

Shockley completed 20-of-33 passes for 277 yards and also rushed for 71 yards on eight carries.

But it wasn’t enough against West Virginia, which ripped through the Bulldogs for 382 yards rushing. Schmitt had 82 yards on the ground, while White rushed for 77 and completed 11-of-14 yards for another 120 yards.

“They just ran their offense,” Richt said, “and they ran it to perfection.”

MORE FROM COLLEGE FOOTBALL

College football Section Front

Big Ten blows BCS spot Opinion: 10 bowl matchups that would be a treat CFT: ‘By the numbers’ — McCoy goes for record CFT: Iowa’s Stanzi could return for bowl game CFT: Meyer says Florida ‘lacking the big hits’ Tribe stops school from dropping nickname Trash Talk: Sorry, but SEC not all it’s cracked up to be   Vote: Which is the best conference? CFT: Mystery over for No. 5 Cincinnati — Pike will sit Iowa-Ohio St. in-depth video preview, analysis College football Section Front   Add College football headlines to your news reader: