MORGANTOWN, W.Va.--On an emotional day, with both teams mourning the death of Connecticut cornerback Jasper Howard, No. 22 West Virginia (6-1, 2-0 Big East) earned a 28-24 victory against visiting Connecticut (4-3, 1-2) today in front of 58,106 at Mountaineer Field.

West Virginia had to come from behind in the final three minutes, getting a 56-yard touchdown from Noel Devine to win it with 2:10 remaining.

The pregame festivities included a moment of silence for Howard, the 20-year-old Connecticut defensive back from Florida who was stabbed to death on the school's Storrs, Conn., campus early Sunday morning. His funeral will be Monday.

Today, though, there was a game to play.

After starting strong--with a touchdown on the opening kickoff--West Virginia slept walked through much of the remainder of the first half, got locked in an ebb-and-flow tussle and needed a push in the second half to earn the win.

Trailing in the third quarter, the Mountaineers got a 1-yard touchdown catch from Norwin High school product Tyler Urban, off the arm of quarterback Jarrett Brown, to pull ahead, 21-17.

Connecticut swung back very late, hitting on an 88-yard touchdown play from former Trinity High School quarterback Cody Endres to Marcus Easley with 3:50 left to pull ahead--but that was before Devine's game-winner.

The Mountaineers started just about as well as imaginable, with true freshman Tavon Austin thundering through the Connecticut coverage unit on the opening kickoff for a 98-yard touchdown return.

Connecticut tied it at 7-7 before the end of the first quarter, getting a 5-yard touchdown run from Jordan Todman, then took a 10-7 advantage with 2:53 left before halftime on a 38-yard field goal from Dave Teggert.

West Virginia took a lead late in the first half--for 28 seconds.

After the Mountaineers went ahead, 14-10 on a 5-yard scoring run from Brown, Connecticut used a big kickoff return to get a short field and Kashif Moore pulled in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Endres to put his squad in front, 17-14, with 21 seconds left before the half.

For the Huskies, it was a lead that wouldn't last.

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