West Virginia gets 10 sacks in defeat of Pitt

Associated Press

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.

Shawne Alston rushed for two second-half touchdowns, including a 1-yarder with 6:10 left, and West Virginia came from 10 points down to beat Pittsburgh 21-20 on Friday night.

West Virginia sacked Tino Sunseri 10 times, including four on Pittsburgh’s final drive, when time ran out on the Panthers.

The Mountaineers (8-3, 4-2 Big East) can earn a share of the conference title next week at South Florida. West Virginia also hold slim hopes for earning the league’s automatic BCS berth and would need some help in a tight league race.

Pittsburgh (5-6, 3-3) led 17-7 at halftime but was limited to 80 yards in the second half.

Pittsburgh starting running back Zach Brown left the game with an undisclosed injury just before halftime and backup Isaac Bennett left the game midway through the third. Bennett would later return, but Pittsburgh’s offense stalled and West Virginia gained momentum.

Alston’s 8-yard TD run midway through the third quarter cut West Virginia’s deficit to 20-14.

In the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers turned the ball over on downs and Tyler Urban fumbled the ball away on the Mountaineers’ next drive.

But a personal foul on Pittsburgh’s Aaron Donald gave West Virginia a first down at the Panthers’ 28. On fourth-and-7, Geno Smith hit Tavon Austin for 9 yards. Alston followed with an 11-yard run and then ran in the go-ahead score to cap the 83-yard drive and give West Virginia its first lead of the game.

Pittsburgh was forced to punt with 2:30 left and got one last chance from its own 34 after West Virginia went three-and-out. Sunseri ran for a first down on fourth-and-1. But he was called for intentional grounding on the next play and Pittsburgh couldn’t move the ball as time ran out.

Sunseri went 12 of 23 for 137 yards.

Mistakes on West Virginia’s special teams contributed to Pittsburgh’s first 17 points.

West Virginia’s George Wright was called for a low block on a Pittsburgh field goal attempt that went wide right in the first quarter. Brown scored from a yard out five plays later.