The powerful team play of the West Virginia Mountaineers, along with the great individual performances of QB Pat White, RB Noel Devine, and WR Darius Reynaud, sent the Oklahoma Sooners home unhappy for the second year in a row at the Tostitos® Fiesta Bowl. It was an electrifying performance from the start as the Mountaineer offense was too much for the Sooners to handle. Offensive MVP Pat White led the way going 10/19 passing for 176 yds and 2 TD's, as well as takin' off for a monster 150 yds rushing for the mobile QB. Not far behind in the stellar play category were White's quick footed teammates Noel Devine (who was named as one of ESPN the Magazine's NEXT Athletes) and Jr. WR Darius Reynaud. Reynaud had a great game with 5 rec. for a TD (a 21 yd. catch), as well as one rushing play from the back field in which he took it 30 yds to the house for the score. And what to say about freshman phenom Noel Devine. After starting RB Steve Slaton went down with an injury early in the game, Noel Devine came in and never looked back. He caught two passes for 47 yds, and rushed for 108 yds and 2 TD's (including a long 65 yd run in the fourth quarter). Overall, White, Devine, and the rest of the West Virginia offense combined for 349 yds rushing! This was the most compiled against a Bob Stoops-led OU defense (OU ranked 7th nationally during the season allowing only 91.9 rush yds/game). After a game where the Mountaineers ran all over Oklahoma, and their defense made red-shirt Fr. QB Sam Bradford, RB Allen Patrick, and the good Sooner wide receivers look human (and not the #4 team in the nation), West Virginia had reason to celebrate. Glendale was rockin' all night, the players accepted their trophy, and their interim head coach even got a new deal to lead the team for the next four years. It was a great night that kept the Fiesta Bowl tradition the last few years of it truly being one big fiesta!
