Instant Analysis: Pittsburgh-West Virginia

Does anyone want to win the 2007 Football Bowl Subdivision BCS national championship? Right down to its dying moments, the Season That Sanity Forgot remained impossible to understand. Saturday night in Morgantown, West Virginia joined the parade of shock and sadness, as the Mountaineers became the latest No. 2 team to tumble, and the thirteenth top five club to fall to an unranked opponent.

The Backyard Brawl turned into the Backyard Bawl for Mountaineer Nation, which will take a long time to heal from this supreme stomach punch suffered at the hands of the hated Panthers from Pittsburgh. On a night when a state and its beloved Old Gold and Blue figured to have a cherished moment in the sun, the outlook abruptly turned dark and cloudy against Dave Wannstedt's hard-working wonders, who flatly punched the home team in the mouth from start to finish.

The shocking aspect of this titanic upset is the simple yet undeniable fact that Pittsburgh obliterated West Virginia at the line of scrimmage. On offense and defense, the white shirts blew back the bright-colored Mountaineers. Those in Gold got rolled by a bold bunch of Panthers who refused to fold. Whether it was Pittsburgh's front seven smothering Steve Slaton and Pat White (or backup quarterback Jarrett Brown, who filled in after White dislocated his thumb), or Panther tailback LeSean McCoy powering his way to 148 yards on 38 carries, the reality was the same: Pittsburgh took the fight to West Virginia, and the Mountaineers flinched. A turnover-prone team coughed up the pill a few more times, and with usually reliable placekicker Pat McAfee biffing two chip-shot field goals early in the game, the home team conceded precious points that wound up making a huge difference.

Still not convinced about the authoritative nature of the Panthers' win? Well, if the Big East officiating crew hadn't made a number of highly suspect holding calls on plays when West Virginia corners simply didn't get off their blocks against Panther receivers, Pitt would have salted away this win much earlier in the evening. A McCoy touchdown run--earned by a beautiful juke move in the open field on a 3rd and 5 play from the Mountaineer 13--was mysteriously called back on the kind of play that simply doesn't get called at the FBS level. Nearly a quarter later, with Pittsburgh trying to hang on just before the three-minute mark of regulation, a superbly-executed reverse mini-option sprung McCoy for a first down on a 3rd and 5. However, the yellow laundry emerged again, as a holding penalty was called on the same Pittsburgh receiver (Oderick Turner) who was wrongly flagged for holding on McCoy's touchdown run. Just for good measure, the Big East officials punished a Pittsburgh defensive back for celebrating after White's last-ditch 4th and 17 pass sailed incomplete with 1:34 left in regulation. But by then, possession had already changed hands, and the Panthers finally ran the clock out on the Mountaineers and their national title hopes.

It's still been a good season in Appalachia, as the Mountaineers won the Big East and, as a consolation prize, will still go to the Orange Bowl for a chance to knock heads with bitter enemy Virginia Tech in early January. But consolation won't come easily for the next 72 hours, or perhaps the next 72 months, in Morgantown. Losing regional bragging rights and a national title shot on the same night--and as a four-touchdown favorite at home, no less--is a hard double whammy to absorb. That's the way life's been, however, in the Season That Sanity Forgot.