West Virginia 48, Oklahoma 28

1234T
WVU (11-2)614141448
OKLA (11-3)0691328

Final

8:00 PM ET, January 2, 2008
Cardinals Stadium
GLENDALE, AZ

Devine, White lead WVU to Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma

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Bowl Overview
It was over when... West Virginia receiver Darius Reynaud took a reverse 30 yards for a touchdown, putting the Mountaineers up 34-15 late in the third quarter.
Gameball goes to... Pat White. The West Virginia quarterback did it all, running for 150 yards on 20 carries and passing for 176 yards and two touchdowns.
Stat of the game... 349. West Virginia ran for 349 yards against a Sooners' defense that had given up just 91.9 rushing yards per game. The 349 yards was by far the most given up by a Bob Stoops-coached OU team.
Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs1725
3rd down efficiency
4-124-16
4th down efficiency
0-02-4
Total Yards525419
Passing176242
Comp-Att
10-1921-33
Yards per pass
9.37.3
Rushing349177
Rushing Attempts
3943
Yards per rush
8.94.1
Penalties0-00-0
Turnovers01
Fumbles lost
00
Interceptions thrown
01
Possession15:0220:34
Individual Leaders
West Virginia Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
White10/1917620
Oklahoma Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Bradfor...21/3324221
West Virginia Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
White20150042
Devine13108265
Oklahoma Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Patrick1482038
Brown1650113
West Virginia Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Gonzale...179179
Devine247034
Oklahoma Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Chaney4129145
Iglesia...853115
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERWVUOKLA
FG5:40Pat McAfee 38 yard field goal GOOD.
Drive info: 4 plays, 1 yds in 1:19
30
FG0:02Pat McAfee 42 yard field goal GOOD.
Drive info: 11 plays, 55 yds in 4:11
60
SECOND QUARTERWVUOKLA
FG7:46Garrett Hartley 37 yard field goal GOOD.
Drive info: 6 plays, 54 yds in 2:10
63
TD6:29Owen Schmitt rush for 57 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Pat McAfee extra point GOOD.
Drive info: 4 plays, 78 yds in 1:17
133
FG4:50Garrett Hartley 24 yard field goal GOOD.
Drive info: 5 plays, 51 yds in 1:39
136
TD2:27Pat White pass complete to Darius Reynaud for 21 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Pat McAfee extra point GOOD.
Drive info: 7 plays, 78 yds in 2:23
206
THIRD QUARTERWVUOKLA
FG9:39Garrett Hartley 42 yard field goal GOOD.
Drive info: 8 plays, 58 yds in 3:09
209
TD6:23Chris Brown rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN. Two-point conversion attempt, Sam Bradford pass FAILED.
Drive info: 7 plays, 80 yds in 1:41
2015
TD3:34Noel Devine rush for 17 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Pat McAfee extra point GOOD.
Drive info: 6 plays, 39 yds in 2:49
2715
TD0:20Darius Reynaud rush for 30 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Pat McAfee extra point GOOD.
Drive info: 3 plays, 75 yds in 1:23
3415
FOURTH QUARTERWVUOKLA
TD13:21Sam Bradford pass complete to Quentin Chaney for 19 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Two-point conversion attempt, Chris Brown rush FAILED.
Drive info: 5 plays, 52 yds in 1:59
3421
TD13:02Pat White pass complete to Tito Gonzales for 79 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Pat McAfee extra point GOOD.
Drive info: 1 plays, 79 yds in 0:19
4121
TD10:20Sam Bradford pass complete to Juaquin Iglesias for 15 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Garrett Hartley extra point GOOD.
Drive info: 5 plays, 73 yds in 2:42
4128
TD9:21Noel Devine rush for 65 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Pat McAfee extra point GOOD.
Drive info: 2 plays, 70 yds in 0:59
4828

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Patrick White guided West Virginia to a stunningly easy romp over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Then, the option quarterback made his biggest pitch of the night.

White ran for 150 yards and threw for 176 and two touchdowns in a 48-28 victory. After it was over, he endorsed Mountaineers interim coach Bill Stewart to become the permanent successor to Rich Rodriguez, who bolted for Michigan last month.

Sooners Run Down
West Virginia Mountaineers

In nine seasons under Bob Stoops, the Oklahoma defense has traditionally been tough to run on. This year had been no different, as the Sooners ranked seventh nationally by giving up just 91.9 rush YPG. Then West Virginia came calling. The Mountaineers had 349 yards on the ground, the most rushing yards ever gained against a Stoops-led OU team.

Rush Yds Opponent Result
349 2008 vs. WVU Lost
292 2005 vs. A&M Won
292 2003 vs. KSU Lost
284 1999 vs. ND Lost
271 2002 vs. MIZZ Won
231 1999 vs. Texas Lost

"He deserves it," White said. "A great man. A great coach. All the players respect him and all the players love him. You couldn't ask for a better man to lead us to victory today."

An emotional Stewart wouldn't lobby for the job. But he relished what he called "a colossal win for our program.

"I never had a Gatorade bath," said Stewart, a native West Virginian who has been an assistant for most of his career. "It was special."

The Mountaineers (No. 11 BCS, No. 9 AP) didn't need Rodriguez. They had White, a relentless defense and a rushing attack that raced for 349 yards, most allowed by Oklahoma (No. 3 BCS, No. 4 AP) in a bowl game.

Since arriving in the desert last week, the Mountaineers (11-2) said they had bonded behind Stewart, who took over when Rodriguez left for Michigan in mid-December. And they vowed to rebound from a 13-9 loss to Pitt that knocked them out of the Bowl Championship Series title game.

The Mountaineers were right on both counts, turning in an emotional effort and overcoming the loss of star tailback Steve Slaton to a first-quarter leg injury. Noel Devine replaced Slaton and ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns -- a 17-yarder and a 65-yarder that clinched the game in the fourth quarter.

The Mountaineers became the first of six teams to win under an interim coach this bowl season. They improved to 2-0 in the Bowl Championship Series.

OU is P.U.
Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma endured another disappointment on the same field where the Sooners lost a classic Fiesta Bowl to Boise State one year ago. The Sooners have dropped four straight BCS games.

BCS bowl Opp Result
'08 Fiesta WVU L, 48-28
'07 Fiesta Boise St. L, 43-42*
'05 Orange USC L, 55-19
'04 Sugar LSU L, 21-14
* -- overtime loss

"It's a great night to be a Mountaineer," Stewart said as he accepted the Fiesta Bowl trophy while thousands of West Virginia fans celebrated in the grandstand.

Stewart said his players "never, ever quit believing."

Oklahoma (11-3) endured another disappointment on the same field where the Sooners lost a classic Fiesta Bowl to Boise State one year ago. The Sooners have dropped four straight BCS games.

"It's not very positive," said coach Bob Stoops, who led OU to the 2000 national title. "You get to this position, you're obviously doing a lot of things positive and good. But you need to finish out and play well in these games."

The Sooners had no answer for White, whose 79-yard touchdown pass to Tito Gonzales in the fourth quarter was the longest in Mountaineers bowl history.

Meanwhile, West Virginia's fourth-rated defense limited the potent Sooners to well below their scoring average of 43.4 points per game, third in the nation.

"That was very impressive," Stewart said. "Our guys fought hard."

Lose-Lose Situations

For those in interim roles this bowl season before the new guy takes over, the experience wasn't so good. That is except for West Virginia's Bill Stewart, who snapped the slump with a resounding 48-28 victory vs. OU.

UCLA Lost
Houston Lost
Texas A&M Lost
Georgia Tech Lost
Arkansas Lost
West Virginia Won

The Mountaineers harassed Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, sacking the nation's top-rated passer three times and intercepting him in the end zone. Bradford completed 21 of 33 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns.

"I just wasn't myself," Bradford said. "I wasn't going through the reads. I was forcing things."

The Sooners rallied from an 18-point deficit against Boise State last January, taking a late lead before the Broncos forced overtime, where they won on a trick play.

This time, OU trailed 20-6 at halftime. But the Sooners cut it to 20-15 on Chris Brown's 1-yard run midway through the third quarter.

Then Stoops made two curious calls. First, he decided to go for two points. But Bradford's pass fell incomplete.

Then Stoops ordered an onside kick. The ball didn't go 10 yards, and West Virginia took over on OU's 39.

"We had the momentum, so if you get the onside kick, you have the chance to really give them a blow," Stoops said. "I thought we had the momentum. The opportunity was there. We just didn't execute."

The Mountaineers needed six plays to capitalize, scoring on Devine's 17-yard run.

West Virginia made it 34-15 on Darius Reynaud's 30-yard run with 20 seconds to go in the third quarter. The Mountaineers went 75 yards in three plays -- 42 on an electrifying run by White, who weaved through tacklers along the left sideline.

After the Sooners scored on a 19-yard pass from Bradford to Quentin Chaney, White found Gonzales down the middle for a 79-yard TD that made it 41-21.

"People doubt us all the time," White said. "But we work hard, and we did the job."

The rest of the game was garbage time, with numerous personal fouls. Oklahoma was flagged 13 times for 113 yards, and the Mountaineers eight times for 110.

At halftime Oklahoma had as many penalties (six) as first downs.

Asked about OU's penalties, Stoops replied, "Embarrassing. Absolutely no discipline whatsoever. That has to be a reflection on me. I'm obviously not doing a good enough job of getting our players to play smart."

The Mountaineers also had discipline problems. But on this night, nothing could stop them -- not the Sooners or the officials.

"Oklahoma's a great team," White said. "I think we were just a little bit hungrier than they were."

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Thursday, December 20th
Utah 35 Final
Navy 32
Friday, December 21st
Memphis 27 Final
Florida Atlantic 44
Saturday, December 22nd
Southern Miss 21 Final
Cincinnati 31
Nevada 0 Final
New Mexico 23
UCLA 16 Final
Brigham Young 17
Sunday, December 23rd
Boise State 38 Final
East Carolina 41
Wednesday, December 26th
Purdue 51 Final
Central Michigan 48
Thursday, December 27th
Arizona State 34 Final
Texas 52
Friday, December 28th
Boston College 24 Final
Michigan State 21
TCU 20 Final
Houston 13
Maryland 14 Final
Oregon State 21
Saturday, December 29th
Connecticut 10 Final
Wake Forest 24
UCF 3 Final
Mississippi State 10
Penn State 24 Final
Texas A&M 17
Sunday, December 30th
Alabama 30 Final
Colorado 24
Monday, December 31st
California 42 Final
Air Force 36
Georgia Tech 28 Final
Fresno State 40
South Florida 21 Final
Oregon 56
Kentucky 35 Final
Florida State 28
Indiana 33 Final
Oklahoma State 49
Clemson 20 Final
Auburn 23 OT
Tuesday, January 1st
Wisconsin 17 Final
Tennessee 21
Missouri 38 Final
Arkansas 7
Michigan 41 Final
Florida 35
Texas Tech 31 Final
Virginia 28
Illinois 17 Final
USC 49
Hawaii 10 Final
Georgia 41
Wednesday, January 2nd
West Virginia 48 Final
Oklahoma 28
Thursday, January 3rd
Kansas 24 Final
Virginia Tech 21
Saturday, January 5th
Rutgers 52 Final
Ball State 30
Sunday, January 6th
Bowling Green 7 Final
Tulsa 63
Monday, January 7th
LSU 38 Final
Ohio State 24