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White, West Virginia look to avoid upset at Cincinnati

Nov 17, 2007 - 12:00 PM No. 5 West Virginia (8-1) at No. 21 Cincinnati (8-2) 7:45 pm EST

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- West Virginia may need some more heroics from Pat White to post another victory this week.

White leads the fifth-ranked Mountaineers into a key Big East Conference matchup at No. 21 Cincinnati, which also has designs on the league title.

West Virginia (8-1, 3-1 Big East) sits a half-game behind first-place Connecticut in the conference standings. The Mountaineers host the Huskies next week.

However, Cincinnati (8-2, 3-2) also is in the hunt for the Big East crown in its first season under Brian Kelly and is coming off a 27-3 rout of UConn here last Saturday.

Ben Mauk threw for 276 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score for the Bearcats, who limited the Huskies to 22 rushing yards.

West Virginia, meanwhile, blew a 17-point lead to defensively challenged Louisville at home last Thursday before edging the Cardinals, 38-31, on White's 50-yard TD scamper with 1:36 to go.

White threw for 181 yards and two TDs to go with his 147 yards on the ground.

Last year, West Virginia beat Cincinnati in Morgantown, 42-24. The Mountaineers crushed the Bearcats here the year before, 38-0.