West Virginia repulses Pitt

The No. 24 Mountaineers likely are headed to the Gator Bowl after holding off the arch-rival Panthers 24-17.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- West Virginia quarterback Rasheed Marshall didn't beat Pitt's Rod Rutherford in three high school match-ups. Never came close. So he saved his best performance back home for a much-bigger game.
West Virginia turned two Rutherford turnovers into touchdowns and the No. 24 Mountaineers, likely headed to the Gator Bowl, held off No. 17 Pittsburgh 24-17 Saturday with another late defensive stand.
Led by Marshall's play-making and Avon Cobourne's running, the Mountaineers (9-3, 6-1 in Big East) completed a remarkable turnaround from a 3-8 season, secured at least second place in the Big East and beat their Backyard Brawl rival for the first time in three years.
Marshall stars
Marshall, whose Pittsburgh high school team was outscored 138-0 in the three prep games against Rutherford's, ran for a touchdown, threw for another and set up a score with a 25-yard reception as West Virginia beat Pitt for the eighth time in 11 years.
"We kept telling Rasheed to settle down, that he was at home and to just settle down and make plays," running back Quincy Wilson said. "We kept running the ball and running it and running it, and that made the [other] plays work."
Afterward, the two quarterbacks hugged at midfield.
"It wasn't me vs. Rod, just like it wasn't in high school," Marshall said. "I told him to keep his head up, because I know this was a tough game to lose."
The Mountaineers are expected to play North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 1, with Pitt now ticketed for the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte.
Four turnovers
The Panthers (8-4, 5-2), denied their first nine-win season in 20 years, can blame only themselves for losing before the biggest Pitt home crowd in 64 years, committing four turnovers to none for West Virginia. They also were out-rushed 231-195 despite Brandon Miree's 121 yards.
"This was a very hard game to lose," Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris said. "You can't turn the ball over. We didn't control the run. In the games we've lost, we've been our worst enemy."
With the score tied at 10, Pitt turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions late in the second quarter and early in the third, and West Virginia capitalized on the mistakes to surge to a 24-10 lead.
Still, Pittsburgh had a chance to send the game into overtime, driving from its own 7 to the West Virginia 11 as time wound down. But Rutherford was sacked on first down, then threw three consecutive incompleted passes into the end zone from the 14 as snow began to fall and the winds picked up. He had Larry Fitzgerald open on third down, but the receiver slipped just as the ball arrived and he couldn't make the catch.
"There was no excuse," Fitzgerald said. "It hit me in the hands and I didn't make the play."
West Virginia also made two late goal-line stands in its 21-18 victory over then-No. 13 Virginia Tech on Nov. 20. The Mountaineers have beaten ranked opponents in consecutive games for the first time since 1994.
"Winning this is bigger because it means we're 9-3 and going to a bowl -- and Pitt always is the team we want to beat," Wilson said.
Marshall didn't throw often out of West Virginia's spread offense but was effective, going 5-of-9 for 123 yards against the nation's No. 8 defense. He hit Phil Braxton for 29 yards to set up Cobourne's 2-yard scoring run and Braxton again for 79 yards for the score that made it 24-10.