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West Virginia looks to run past Georgia Tech in Gator Bowl

Jan 1, 2007 - 2:56 PM No. 13 West Virginia (10-2) vs. Georgia Tech (9-4) January 1 Gator Bowl 1:00 pm EST

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey and his staff have a tough task ahead of them.

Gailey's Yellow Jackets attempt to slow down Steve Slaton, Pat White and No. 13 West Virginia on Monday when the teams meet in the Gator Bowl.

Led by lightning-quick running back Slaton and elusive quarterback White, the Mountaineers (10-2) were the nation's No. 2 rushing team (302.33) and No. 5 total offense (463.0) in the regular season.

"They do such a good job with execution and faking the ball that you're going to get out of position sometimes," Gailey said. "Recovery speed is the key. If you get a half or full step out of position, you're going to have to recover and that's what our team defense does as a whole."

The sophomores helped West Virginia go 5-2 in the Big East Conference, finishing tied for second in the league.

Mountaineers coach Rich Rodriguez nearly filled the coaching vacancy at Alabama before deciding to sign an extension at his alma mater.

Georgia Tech (9-4) went 7-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play to win the Coastal Division before losing to Atlantic champ Wake Forest in the league title game.

Erratic senior quarterback Reggie Ball and cornerback Kenny Scott were declared academically ineligible for the bowl.

Ball will be replaced by sophomore Taylor Bennett, who will have the luxury of throwing to All-American receiver Calvin Johnson, while sophomore Jahi Word-Daniels is expected to start for Scott.