By Cody Burton, The Daily Athenaeum
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It was a treacherous December night at Milan Puskar Stadium on Dec. 1, 2007, when the No. 2-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers welcomed their bitter rival from 75 miles north: the 4-7 University of Pittsburgh Panthers.
It was the final game of the regular season, and with a win, the Mountaineers were set to face the No. 1 Ohio State University Buckeyes in the BCS National Championship Game. Led by Head Coach Rich Rodriguez, junior quarterback Patrick White and junior running back Steve Slaton, WVU was on the verge of reaching the title game for the first time since the 1989 Fiesta Bowl, where the Major Harris-led Mountaineers fell to the University of Notre Dame, 34-21.
What happened next changed the landscape of the program, the state and college football forever. West Virginia hearts were broken by the Panthers, a 28.5-point underdog, 13-9.
Nothing came easy. White dealt with injuries throughout the night, limiting him to only 14 carries and 10 passing attempts. Slaton and freshman running back Noel Devine were limited to only 11 yards apiece. Junior kicker Pat McAfee missed two first quarter chip-shot field goals, from 20 and 32 yards, that ultimately proved to be the difference between a close win and a devastating loss.
