Football: WVU Clinches Big East
November 26, 2005 07:20 PM | General
November 26, 2005
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia fans start making your plans for the holidays, because the Mountaineers are going to a BCS bowl game.
No. 12-ranked West Virginia (9-1, 6-0) defeated Pittsburgh, 45-13 on Thursday night to clinch at least a share of the Big East title. Today, the Mountaineers claimed it outright after Connecticut upset South Florida, 15-10 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn.
The most likely bowl destination for West Virginia will either be the Sugar Bowl to be played in Atlanta this year or the Orange Bowl in Miami. Official BCS bowl-game bids will be extended on Sunday, Dec. 4.
"We're obviously excited to win the outright Big East championship," said West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez. "Our young men have worked very hard all season to achieve this goal. We have two big games left to play, but this is quite an accomplishment for our program.
"Our guys believed the whole season that we could defend our Big East title, and we've played with that dedication and focus on the field. I'm very happy for our seniors and our whole football family."
The Huskies got a 60-yard touchdown run from Lou Allen and held USF’s Andre Hall to just 91 yards on 21 carries to even its record to 5-5.
South Florida falls to 6-4, 4-2.
West Virginia travels to Tampa this Saturday, Dec. 3, to take on the Bulls in a 7:30 pm game that was rescheduled after Hurricane Wilma forced the contest’s cancellation.
West Virginia has either won or shared each of the last three Big East championships.
