On their way to what would have been a crushing defeat, the West Virginia Mountaineers were saved by some Devine intervention.

When West Virginia was down by three points with under four minutes to go against Connecticut on Saturday, the Mountaineers turned to their leader, all 5-foot-8, 175 pounds of Noel Devine,, giving their running back the football on a critical game winning drive.

Once again, Devine proved big things come in little packages, as he delivered a sensational game-clinching 56-yard tightrope touchdown run up the sideline, helping put the visiting Huskies away, 28-24.

“I just believe in my team and believe in my blocking,” Devine said. “I just try to keep them up and try to keep a smile on my face, knowing that I believe in them and letting them know that I believe in them by showing them a smile.”

A crowd of better than 58,000, most of which cheering for WVU (6-1, 2-0 BIG EAST), had plenty reason to smile after witnessing Devine’s lightning-quick dash down the sideline, with the game hanging in the balance, against UConn (4-3, 1-2).

It all almost didn’t happen.

When Devine took off towards the sideline, he nearly stepped out of bounds. “I knew I didn’t step out of bounds. I saw my feet,” he said of his play which was reviewed and upheld.

Devine erupted for 171 of his 178 rush yards in the second half. “He carried us in the second half, on offense,” said WVU running backs/slot receivers coach Chris Beatty.

Beatty explained how WVU made halftime adjustments that benefited Devine, during the second half of the game. “We got more zone blocking and gap scheme stuff because they were bringing a lot more blitzes than we thought we were going to see. That was able to give us some creases inside and to get our running game going.”

Those adjustments proved completely necessary because it was UConn who owned a 17-14 lead, at half time.

Beatty saw Devine, a newly emerged leader for WVU, stayed cool even in the most dire of circumstances. “The whole time, we’re in the huddle and he’s saying, ‘Hey, don’t worry about it, this is why we came here,’” said Beatty. “He was under composure. It was special.”

Even though Devine’s late-game heroics were remarkable, to him, it was his duty to step up and take over. “That’s what football is all about -- making big plays when you’re teammates need you,” said Devine.

The Huskies played an inspired game, rallying for their fallen teammate, Jasper Howard, who was killed early last Sunday, following a dance that was held on the UConn campus.

“That was one heck of a college football game,” said WVU head coach Bill Stewart. “I’m glad we were the winner. It’s a sad shame there had to be a loser.”

Devine said, “It should’ve been a good game for the player that they lost. It was a great game for him.”

Huskies’ quarterback Cody Endres passed for a game-high 378 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted three times. Endres hooked up with Marcus Easley on an 88-yard touchdown pass that put UConn up, 24-21, before Devine intervened for WVU, moments later.

There were four lead changes in the game. WVU got on the board first from a 98-yard kickoff return touchdown by freshman slot receiver Tavon Austin.

“When I was running, I got a couple good blocks from my teammates and cut it back right and I seen a lot of green grass and from there, I used my athletic ability,” Austin said of his second career touchdown at WVU. “When you get a team, you got to smash them from the beginning.”

Jordan Todman and Andre Dixon combined for 132 rush yards for the Huskies, with a rushing touchdown coming from Todman. WVU was out gained by UConn, 501 to 387, but ended up winning the game anyway. 

Mountaineer quarterback Jarrett Brown’s status was a game time decision due to a concussion he suffered last week against Marshall, but he did start and finished the game 16 of 27 for 153 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Brown also chipped in 41 rush yards and a touchdown on the ground. His favorite receiver target was Jock Sanders, who totaled eight catches for 81 yards.

WVU improved to 6-0 all-time against UConn, who joined the Big East football conference in 2004.