EAST HARTFORD, Conn. -- Pat White and the West Virginia Mountaineers ran past Connecticut to push their winning streak to 14 games.
Pat White ran for 102 yards and a touchdown and threw a scoring pass and Steve Slaton rushed for 128 yards rushing to help No. 4 West Virginia beat Connecticut 37-11 in the Mountaineers' final tuneup before their showdown with sixth-ranked Louisville.
Mountaineers climbing
With the win over UConn, fourth-ranked West Virginia tied No. 1 Ohio State for the longest winning streak in the nation. It's also the best run in team history.
Streak Date
14 Oct. 8, 2005-present
13 Oct. 18, 1952-Nov. 7, 1953
12 Nov. 21, 1992-Nov. 26, 1993
11 Sept. 3-Nov. 19, 1988
11 Nov. 6, 1954-Nov. 4, 1955
11 Oct. 17, 1925-Oct. 23, 1926
11 Oct. 28, 1922-Oct. 20, 1923
Pat White led West Virginia (7-0, 2-0 Big East) on two one-play drives, running 45 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, and throwing a 52-yard scoring pass to Rayshawn Bolden in the third.
Pat White, who had 15 carries, was 9-of-14 for 156 yards, with one interception.
Steve Slaton scored on a 56-yard run with 5:26 left.
Pat McAfee added three field goals, including a career-long 48-yarder, as West Virginia tied Ohio State for the longest winning streak in the nation.
"It's hard to win that many games," West Virginia Coach Rich Rodriguez said. "I've not mentioned the winning streak. I said to the guys, 'You ought to be proud. You have the longest winning streak in the history of the school."'
UConn (3-4, 0-2), which started six freshmen, including three on the offensive line, trailed 6-3 midway through the second quarter.
But a holding penalty and a 30-yard punt into a stiff wind gave West Virginia the ball on the UConn 45. On the next play, Pat White kept the ball on an option and sprinted up the middle of the field for a touchdown.
"We lost the battle of field position," UConn coach Randy Edsall said. "We were giving them the short field, and when you give a team like that the short field, you make it very difficult on yourself."
Pat White had a 30-yard scamper on the Mountaineers' next drive, which went 74 yards in 11 plays. Owen Schmitt ran the ball in from a yard out with 20 seconds left in the half to give the Mountaineers a 20-3 lead.
"We finally got it going toward the end of the first half," Pat White said. "That gave us the momentum, because we really couldn't get it going before that."
Connecticut's Matt Bonislawski completed eight of 20 passes for 58 yards and an interception. He was replaced late in the third quarter by sophomore D.J. Hernandez, who scored the Huskies' touchdown on a 5-yard run with 7:22 left in the game. Terry Caulley ran for the two-point conversion.
Caulley, who came into the game averaging 98 yards per game on the ground, ran for 35 yards on 13 carries.
West Virginia held UConn to 210 yards on offense.
"We did some things to try and take advantage of their youth up front," Rodriguez said. "Obviously when you get a lead and they're forced to throw it more, it's a little easier to call the plays."
Tony Ciaravino, the third kicker the Huskies have used this season, hit a 29-yard field goal to tie it 3-3. That score capped a 15-play, 60-yard drive that used up 5:46.
Ciaravino replaced Graig Vicidomino, who missed three field goals last week in a 21-7 win over Army. Vicidomino had replaced Matt Nuzie midway through the Huskies' 38-16 loss at South Florida on Oct. 7, after Nuzie missed a short field goal and an extra point.
West Virginia will play at No. 6 Louisville on Nov. 2, before facing Pittsburgh on Nov. 16 and 19th-ranked Rutgers on Dec. 2.
"I told the guys, finally, you know who is next," Rodriguez said. "Now you can bring it up and we can talk about it. I think our players are anxious to talk about it. It's what everybody's been pointing toward."
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