MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Forget about the trip to New Orleans for the Jan. 7 national championship game. That seems like such old news this morning. It became a near certainty for Pat White and his West Virginia teammates Friday night when No. 1 Louisiana State lost to Arkansas. That meant all the Mountaineers had to do was take care of business in a couple of home games. They ripped Connecticut, 66-21, yesterday to win at least a share of the Big East Conference. They surely will emasculate Pitt in similar fashion next Saturday night before they start packing for their stay on Bourbon Street.

It's the other trip that White should have secured yesterday that's so fresh, so intriguing.

The trip to New York for the Dec. 8 Heisman Trophy presentation.

I have a vote, and White is going to get it unless he breaks a leg between now and the time he runs for a zillion yards against Pitt.

What's unfortunate is that White is unlikely to win the jewel. Arkansas running back Darren McFadden might have locked it up with his 206-yard, three-touchdown performance in that stunner against LSU. If he's not the favorite, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is. He has produced a staggering 51 touchdowns. They'll also argue at Kansas and Missouri for their respective quarterback, Todd Reesing and Chase Daniel, each of whom had fabulous numbers before their showdown last night in a game that just possibly determined West Virginia's opponent in New Orleans.

But, for my money, White is the most talented player in America, the most valuable to his team, the most anything you want to say about him.

For West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez's money, too.

"I'm biased. I think he's the best football player in the country," he said after this latest win, one of the most significant in West Virginia history.

"He's truly what you want in a quarterback."

A winner, first and foremost. White's record as a West Virginia starter is 25-3.

A tremendous leader, for another thing. White, perhaps as much as Rodriguez, kept the Mountaineers together after they lost at South Florida in late September, a defeat that seemingly doomed their Big East and national championship hopes. It should be pointed out that White missed the second half of that 21-13 defeat because of a deep thigh bruise. It says here the Mountaineers would have won and been a perfect 11-0 at this point if he had played.

But give White credit for not fretting about the what-ifs. He merely elevated his game and carried West Virginia down the stretch. He had 186 of the Mountaineers' sick 517 rushing yards last night despite being ill with a stomach virus, the fourth consecutive game he has exceeded 145 on the ground. So much for the opponent's strategy of loading up to stop West Virginia's supreme running back, Steve Slaton.

The Mountaineers needed a quick answer after Connecticut stunned them with a 92-yard touchdown drive to start the game. White gave it to them, hitting wide receiver Darius Reynaud for a 49-yard gain on their fourth play and scoring a 3-yard touchdown on their fifth.

White threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Reynaud to give West Virginia a 14-7 lead. He doesn't have the blinding passing stats that the other Heisman-contending quarterbacks have because he throws only 17 times a game, but his passer rating going into last night -- 153.5 -- was right there with Daniel's (155.1) and Reesing's (156.5).

It's White's athleticism that makes him so terrific.

"I just play," he said. "I don't know what I see or what I feel. I just go."

Chimed in Rodriguez, "Pat makes plays when plays aren't there and makes even greater plays when they are there."

White made a beauty last night on the Mountaineers' first possession of the second half, starting around right end, then cutting back all the way across the field to score a 24-yard touchdown that gave West Virginia a 31-14 lead. Teammates Vaughn Rivers and Ryan Mundy were thinking the same thing I was about that time. They struck the Heisman pose in front of White. He responded by pointing to his ring finger, which he's planning on adorning with a national championship ring.

"That's Pat," Mundy said. "He's just worried about winning. He doesn't need the Heisman."

Only Pitt stands in the way of White on his quest to play for that precious national title. It looks like a real mismatch. As a freshman in 2005, White hung up 220 rushing yards on the Panthers in a 45-13 win. He did another 220 against them last season in a 45-27 win, throwing for 204 yards and two touchdowns to boot.

But Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt and defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads have it easy. They only have to worry about stopping White for a week. Coaches from the Mountaineers' opponent in the championship game -- Kansas? Missouri? Maybe even Ohio State? -- will have more than a month to lose sleep over it.

Happy holidays, guys.