NO. 15 WEST VIRGINIA 41 NO. 13 RUTGERS 39 (3 OT)
WVU wins marathon
Rutgers loses share of Big East title on failed 2-point conversion
Sunday, December 03, 2006
John Raby
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. ? Jarrett Brown threw the goahead scoring pass and West Virginia knocked down Mike Teel?s two-point conversion pass to preserve a 41-39 tripleovertime win over Rutgers last night, denying the Scarlet Knights their first BCS berth and allowing Louisville to gain the automatic bid.
Brown ran for one touchdown and threw for one in his first career start to help No. 15 West Virginia (10-2, 5-2) cap its second straight 10-win season. Brown started for Pat White, who missed the game because of a sore ankle.
"What a ballgame," West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said. "No one panicked tonight."
The ending was a peculiar finish to an improbable regular season for No. 13 Rutgers (10-2, 5-2). A loser for so long, the Scarlet Knights started 9-0 before being upset at Cincinnati, then rebounded by beating Syracuse to set the stage for what would have been a historic win against WVU.
But while Rutgers produced its best season since going 11-0 in 1976, it wasn?t enough to get the BCS berth the Scarlet Knights were hoping for.
Rutgers now could have to settle for the Texas Bowl. The Scarlet Knights dropped to 0-15 in Morgantown, dating to 1920.
"They have nothing to be ashamed of," Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. "They played their hearts out."
West Virginia, which began the season with national championship aspirations, is headed to either the Gator or Sun bowl.
A month ago, the Mountaineers were third in the BCS standings before a Nov. 2 loss to Louisville dashed their national title hopes, then their BCS chances were lost with a shocking loss to South Florida.
Starting with the third overtime, teams are required to go for two-point conversions after touchdowns. Brown found Brandon Myles across the middle from 22 yards for the go-ahead score, then connected with Dorrell Jalloh on the two-point pass for a 41-33 lead.
Rutgers? Ray Rice then scored from 2 yards. On the two-point try, Teel scrambled to his right and threw toward Rice, but Vaughn Rivers broke up the pass and several thousand fans in the sellout crowd ran onto the field.
No. 6 Louisville beat Connecticut 48-17 earlier in the day to secure at least a tie for the conference title, then waited for the Rutgers-West Virginia result ... which took longer than expected.
Rutgers came from 10 points down for a 23-20 lead late in the fourth quarter on Jeremy Ito?s 31-yard field goal. West Virginia?s Pat McAfee kicked a 30-yarder with 53 seconds left to tie the score at 23.
Both kickers made field goals in the first overtime.
In the second overtime, Rice broke several tackles on a 12-yard run to the 2, setting up Leonard?s touchdown run on the next play and giving the Scarlet Knights their first lead since early in the third quarter.
Brown then found Myles with a 19-yard pass to the 1 on third down and Steve Slaton scored on the next play to tie the score at 33.
Brown, a sophomore, finished 14 of 29 for 244 yards in his first extensive play. Rice carried 25 times for 129 yards, including 90 yards after halftime. Teel was 19 of 26 for 278 yards.
