West Virginia opened the 2007 season at home against the Broncos of Western Michigan.  Fans clad in gold & blue filled the stands to capacity and cheered on the Mountaineers to a seemingly easy 62-24 victory.

In a day that saw a fellow Mountaineer program knock off mighty Michigan in the Big House, the West Virginia Mountaineers made certain they were not going to be on the wrong side of an upset.  Pat White got the scoring started early with a 19 yard touchdown pass to Dorrel Jalloh.  The Broncos made the game interesting driving down the field for a touchdown, but missed the extra point. That would be as close as they would come all day.  On the next drive, Steve Slaton took a screen pass from White and scampered 50 yards for a score, one of his four touchdowns on the day. 

Shortly after Slaton took it 50 yards for a score, Pat White made an electrifying play of his own getting out of the pocket and running 38 yards for a touchdown to put the Mountaineers up 21-6.  West Virginia would add another score before halftime to go up 28-6 but Western Michigan added another touchdown and two-point conversion right before halftime to lessen the lead to 14. 

The Mountaineers came out smoking in the second half when Steve Slaton took off for 58 yards and a touchdown.  An interception by Reed Williams set up a Pat White 22-yard touchdown run to put WVU up 42-14. 

Slaton would add another touchdown on a one yard run before the back-ups came in late in the third quarter and through the fourth.  Quarterback Jarrett Brown scored on a touchdown run and highly anticipated newcomer Noel Devine burst through a hole and scored his first career touchdown in a Mountaineer uniform.  Devine was given a standing ovation by the Mountaineer faithful.

The West Virginia defense, much maligned a year ago gave a solid performance allowing only 32 rushing yards on 32 attempts, while the Broncos passed for 245 yards.  West Virginia had 316 yards on the ground and 226 through the air.  West Virginia out gained Western Michigan by nearly double, 542 to 277.  Steve Slaton finished the game with 108 yards rushing, 61 yards receiving and four touchdowns while Pat White was 10/18 for 192 yards and two touchdowns and added another 97 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground. 

West Virginia travels to Huntington for the Friends of Coal Bowl next Saturday against Marshall.  The game is slotted for an 11:10 a.m. start.  Last season WVU beat Marshall 42-10 in Morgantown.