Jacksonville , FL--

Coming to Jacksonville is not exactly what the West Virginia Mountaineers had hoped for in 2006 but for the first time in recent history or all five of their apperances in the Gator Bowl, the Rich Rodriguez led team behind Patrick White took a come back victory 38-35 over Georgia Tech.

White, who led the Mountaineers to a 11-2 regular season record racked up two touchdowns on a 9 for 15 passing effort with 131 yards in what was one of the best victories West Virginia had seen all season long.

He handled the bulk of the carries with tailback Steve Slaton, the country's third-leading rusher at 144 yards a game, limited with a badly bruised left thigh. Slaton's status was uncertain before kickoff, and the sophomore managed just 11 yards on three carries _ all in the first half. Owen Schmitt also ran 13 times for 109 yards and two TDs.

"I was hurting a lot, but I had to block it out. I had to play ball," White said. "It makes me want to play harder _ when I'm injured I get a little angry."

While the victory went to West Virginia, none of the 60,000 fans in attendance could over look the amazing performance of wideout Calvin Johnson picked apart West Virginia's secondary.

Johnson who recorded nine receptions for 186 yards and two touchdowns, now has to make an important decision as to whether he would like to return to guide the Yellow Jackets next season or whether he would like to declare himself eligible for the NFL Draft this season.

"What can you say about Calvin Johnson? We knew coming in he was going to be dangerous, but he just ran over top of us," West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said.