West Virginia's championship-altering implosion needs a deep rewind

It’s December 1, 2007. We’re at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia. The No. 2 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers are just one game away from their first BCS Championship appearance in school history, but their legendary offense has imploded at the most painful moment possible – against hated rival Pitt.

Everything this 28.5-point underdog Panthers team needs to pull a miracle upset has happened so far, but there’s no room for error against one of the most explosive teams in college football, even when you’re punting with six seconds left. How did West Virginia get so close to making history, and how did Pitt get this close to breaking it?

We need to rewind.

Written and produced by Steven Godfrey
Directed and edited by Ryan Simmons
Motion graphics by Philip Pasternak

[eddiesunder]

Pat McAfee's week kicked off with the NFL refusing to let him use their graphics and it ended with a retrospective on his college team's worst loss ever. Guy can't catch a break.

[kxr]

I think the entire 2007 season needs a 15 part special

[PureBleachFilms]

I grew up in West Virginia, this is the most devastating sports loss of my life. Even watching this video was painful. The WVU football program never fully recovered from this loss.

[cadensunila]

Football in 2000's was really something special 🥲

[saintrocketIX]

LSU won the national championship, RichRod left for Michigan, and Pat McAfee hasn't stopped talking since.

[bvogsschannel]

As a WVU fan this is still devastating, truly haven’t recovered since. Props to Pitt for playing spoiler but why did it have to be this game lol? I genuinely think that if WVU wins this game, they’re winning the Natty, Pat White and Steve Slayton were just so much fun to watch

[Treetone]

As a lifelong fan born and raised in Morgantown this single game changed the trajectory of our program, state, and lives. We should’ve won. We should continued to trend upward to the top. Since this game I’ve lost my father and brother and I can truly say that after those two separate days this was the 3rd worse of my life. As an 11-year-old boy I was devastated, as I am to this day. Props to Pitt for pulling off arguably the biggest upset of all time in college football. Bias or not, I truly believe that. It’s hard to point to a single game that changed a program so much.

[TheWhitePenny]

My sophomore year at LSU... was at the game and knew it was all over. Went out for late night dinner at a steakhouse. All patrons were fans grabbing food after the game. The whole place watched the outcome of this game on the one bar room TV. A group of total strangers celebrated Pitts shocking victory. We knew what this meant for LSUs championship possibilities. An amazing experience I'll never forget.

[renrose]

2007 was the craziest season for the top 10 I’ve ever seen

[tiger]

Taking a safety to run out the clock has to be the best clock management I've ever heard of

[rolmodel.]

Long-time Pat McAfee Show fan's know: this game almost single handedly killed Pat's career. And possibly more than that.
Not only was he devastated, from feeling as if he failed his teammates, coaches, and University. But, there were whispers about under-the-table deals being done, given that Pittsburgh was his hometown. Which, of course, were completely false.
And, to highlight just how crazy-serious some fan's take these games: there were many, many threats sent his way. Mountaineer homers threatened a college kid's family, education/career, and personal livelihood. Glossing over the fact that Pat WAS the team's scoring in that game*. Did those misses change things? Sure. But, as was pointed out in this vid: there was PLENTY of blame to go around. Patty M did not injure Patty W, nor did he call a stagnantly conservative and predictable offensive gameplan.
This was an example of a perfect storm. A study of everything that can go wrong on the football field, on a Saturday afternoon. Especially, in a rivalry game.
And though he still counts this game as one of, if not THE, darkest moment's of his life; Pat learned from this, and overcame it. And now it is just a chapter, in the amazing (nearly legendary) tale of that dude's successful life story.

*Edit: Pat was NOT WVU's only source of scoring. He had 1 point on a successful point-after attempt. Credit to @I_Love_Fat_Girls
Whom, apparently, loves Mountaineer football, too!

[johnf]

Amazing breakdown. This game and the subsequent RichRod resignation led to an important point of reflection in my life. Leading up to this season, I put so much of my mental/emotional energy into being a WVU fan. I videotaped nearly every single one of Pat White's games, starting with the Sugar Bowl, up until this game. Taking some credit for jinxing it, I pre-wrote the label as "Game to go to National Championship." I remember pulling the tape out after this loss and shattering it over my knee. Combined with RichRod's departure, I was literally angry for a solid month, ruining the holiday season for myself and those around me. I was overjoyed when we were able to win the Fiesta Bowl, but after the season, I did some serious thinking about my priorities. I was resting so much of my happiness on what 20~ year old boys did with a ball. I continue to be a loyal fan, watching every game, including the current horrific season. I enjoy the wins and talking about future opportunities/recruits, but when we lose, I try to look at things in perspective. If the worst thing that happens in a week of my life is losing a game, that's a pretty good week.

[officemaxo]

Pat McAfee has a tear in his eye watching this video

[Themvpaul]

Not mentioned 1) How Pitt had a TD and a backbreaking 1st down late in the game both called back on phantom holding calls 2) Pitt also missed a FG, Pat gets grief for missing those kicks but there were special team errors on both sides

[boogdoggtx]

2005-2009 might be wildest time in college football history, but specifically the 2007 season so much parody the big east might’ve been the wildest of them all

[sabishiihito]

Zone read being an accidental discovery is all kinds of hilarious

[RandallBalls]

Noel Devine. Theres a name I havent heard in years. He went to my high school and was a Florida LEGEND. Then after Slayton left, he had a great college career. If I remember, in his first game, he had like two 50 yd runs. But he got to the NFL and the playbook was too much for him. Shows that you need the brains and the brawn

[yikes]

7:17 glad to hear Darius get his props. He gets forgotten when talking about those teams but was a huge part of keeping defenses honest. Dude scored on a high percentage of his touches

[Docwilson]

You know, I really miss the old Big East from when I was growing up. They didn’t have the firepower like the Big 10 or SEC but the games always seemed to mean something. They were the scrappy underdogs in the land of giants.

[susan_beaver]

Hey, as a baseball nerd who never really got football, thanks for clearly explaining all of these plays, and how the overall strategies work. All of SB's football videos are great at explaining the stakes and the scope of the game but this one made me feel closer to understanding the plays themselves. Appreciate it!