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West Virginia tries to keep in Big East race vs. USF

Nov 22, 2006 - 1:34 AM South Florida (7-4) at No. 7 West Virginia (9-1), 12:00 pm EST

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia (Ticker) - Steve Slaton and Pat White look to keep West Virginia in the thick of the Big East Conference race when the seventh-ranked Mountaineers host South Florida on Saturday.

The Mountaineers (9-1, 4-1 Big East) are in a three-way tie with No. 8 Louisville and No. 15 Rutgers atop the conference with two games remaining. West Virginia, which hosts Rutgers next week, would lose a head-to-head tiebreaker with Louisville if the teams finished in a two-way tie atop the league.

West Virginia defeated Pittsburgh, 45-27, on November 16 as Slaton and White became the third set of teammates in NCAA to rush for more than 200 yards in the same game. Slaton ran for a career-high 215 yards and two touchdowns and fellow sophomore White rushed for 220 yards and two scores.

White also completed 11-of-16 passes for 204 yards and a pair of TDs to Slaton, who had six receptions for 130 yards.

South Florida (7-4, 3-3) is coming off a 31-8 loss at Louisville on Saturday in which freshman quarterback Matt Grothe went 15-of-31 for 237 yards, a TD and an interception.

Last year, West Virginia posted a 28-13 win to clinch its first undefeated Big East season since 1993.