LeSean McCoy was the star. The Pitt freshman ran for 148 yards on a tough 38 carries. Pat Bostick scored the only touchdown for Pitt on a 1-yard quarterback sneak to make it 10-7 in the third quarter.

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 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.

"Pat White is a champion," said backup quarterback Jarrett Brown, who ran 6 yards for the Mountaineers' only touchdown in the second quarter, capping the drive in which White was injured while being tackled at the line of scrimmage. "Everybody is hurt from it, but he is a champion and he will bounce back from it."

White and Slaton are both juniors and could very well be back to make another run next year. As for this season, the Mountaineers are left to wonder how it got away.

"It will be a long month," Rodriguez said, "but hopefully we can bounce back."

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