West Virginia's Avon Cobourne had worn a Superman T-shirt under his jersey while rushing for 193 yards and a pair of touchdowns. But when the game was on the line, Superman was on the sideline, watching helplessly as Cincinnati's Jonathan Ruffin lined up for a game-tying 49-yard field goal try on the last play.

West Virginia QB Rasheed Marshall dives in for a touchdown with UC's Darryll Ransom on his back. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        Ruffin's kick tumbled end-over-end before smacking the upright and bouncing back.

        “You know how it goes in slow motion?” said Cobourne, who had the second-best rushing total of his career. “The ball hit the upright and my heart was like, 'Oh, thank God.' ”

        Given the way the Mountaineers (2-1) had dominated UC in their 35-32 victory, they had a tough time handling the last-second drama.

        West Virginia had little problem with a defense that will try to stop No. 6 Ohio State next week. The Mountaineers rushed for 334 yards, piled up 27 first downs and didn't have to punt until the fourth quarter.

        Rasheed Marshall deftly mixed short passes and option runs against the flat-footed Bearcats, running for a pair of touchdowns and throwing for another. The elusive sophomore was 16-of-24 for 189 yards and ran 12 times for 44 yards.

        “On the first series, their guys were gasping for air,” Marshall said. “It's like, you've got them, you've just got to nail it down. We didn't do that.”

        Wisconsin quarterback Brooks Bollinger had a lot of time to throw last Saturday during the Badgers' 34-17 win, so the Mountaineers changed strategies and frequently blitzed UC quarerback Gino Guidugli.

        The sophomore quarterback hobbled off the field with a bruised right knee in the third quarter, then walked around on the sideline as Marshall's 2-yard touchdown run put West Virginia up 35-17.

        He returned and led two touchdown drives. Guidugli's 8-yard pass to Tye Keith and his keeper for the two-point conversion cut it to 35-32 with 5:39 left.

        Guidugli then completed four passes that put the Bearcats in field goal range with 1 second left, but Ruffin's kick hit high off the left upright and bounced back at him.

        “I thought it was on the money,” Ruffin said. “I had all the confidence in the world. I hit it good. It was going down the middle and at the last minute, it just turned. It may have been the wind. It just died and struck the post.”

        The Mountaineers streamed onto the field in relief and celebration.

        “We knew they'd come back four times with Guidugli,” coach Rich Rodriguez said. “No one was surprised. It's just hard to stop the momentum at the end.”

        The Mountaineers got their lead because of Marshall's clutch plays and Cobourne's consistent running. The senior running back had his 20th 100-yard game, and trails only Amos Zereoue on the Mountaineers' career rushing list.

        “Our offensive line dominated them, just pushed them back,” Cobourne said.

        Cincinnati's defense lost its composure early. End Antwan Peek — the Bearcats' best defensive player — got a 15-yard penalty for taunting Marshall after a play was over.

        Coach Rick Minter called Peek to the sideline, grabbed his jersey, screamed at him and benched him, but for only two plays.

        “We stunk up the joint,” Minter said. “We didn't tackle very well or get off blocks very well. It was one of the worst exhibitions of defense I've seen in a long time.”

        Next week, the Bearcats will try to stop Ohio State's Maurice Clarett, who ran for 230 yards and two touchdowns in a 25-7 win over Washington State. The Buckeyes (3-0) will visit Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday.

        The Mountaineers had lost seven straight road games since they beat Rutgers on Nov. 4, 2000. They've played Cincinnati 12 times since 1921 and never lost, going 11-0 with a tie.

West Virginia 35, UC 32 West Virginia breathes sigh of relief

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