ATLANTA - Georgia's 1980 national championship team was honored during pregame ceremonies at the Sugar Bowl Monday night. But two quarters later, Georgia fans had another team in mind.

The 1999 Bulldogs staged the greatest bowl comeback in school history. They spotted Purdue a 25-0 lead in the Outback Bowl before winning 28-25 in overtime.

The Bulldogs equaled that 25-point comeback in the Georgia Dome on Monday night. And it wasn't enough.

Underdog West Virginia from the much-maligned Big East Conference built a 28-0 lead in the first 16 minutes. But they needed more than a sprinter's start to withstand the SEC champion Bulldogs. They needed a distance runner's finishing kick.

Freshman tailback Steve Slaton provided both in West Virginia's 38-35 victory.

Slaton started the Mountaineers' avalanche with a 52-yard touchdown on his team's fourth play from scrimmage.

Much later, after Georgia cut the deficit to 31-28, Slaton struck again with another 52-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

"This is a dream come true," West Virginia defensive back Antonio Lewis said. "We came into this game with big expectations on our shoulders to win this game for the Big East Conference and for West Virginia.

"The media thought we weren't good enough to get into this game and play a school from the SEC. But we proved them wrong and shocked the world."

The victory boosted West Virginia's record to 11-1 and assured it of a top-10 finish in the final polls. Georgia, which was shooting for its four consecutive finish in the top six nationally, fell to 10-3.

The Bulldogs might have overcome one 52-yard Slaton run, but not two. They might have overcome one sensational freshman runner, but not two.

Freshman quarterback Pat White completed 11 of 14 passes for 120 yards and carried 24 times for 77 yards.

With all that offensive firepower, the Mountaineers still weren't assured of a victory until coach Rich Rodriguez made one of the best clutch calls of his career.

The Mountaineers were leading 38-35 and facing a fourth-and-6 at the Georgia 48. But Rodriguez wasn't about to risk the outcome of a game as high-scoring as this one on his defense. So he called for a fake punt, and punter Phil Brady responded with a 10-yard run for the first down.

That was the final, decisive run in a game of West Virginia runs.

The Mountaineers rushed for a whopping 382 yards against a Georgia defense that was allowing only 124 yards per game. Slaton, who also had an 18-yard touchdown run, rushed for a Sugar Bowl-record 204 yards and was named the game's most valuable player.

"We were down 28, and I didn't know if anything good was going to happen," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "But we got it down to three points and made it a battle."

Quarterback D.J. Shockley was mostly responsible for the Bulldogs' comeback. He completed 20 of 33 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran eight times for 71 yards in the final game of his college career.

"He did fantastic," Richt said. "His poise kept us in the game."

Running backs Thomas Brown and Kregg Lumpkin helped the comeback along with long touchdown runs. Lumpkin scored first on a 34-yard run, and Brown chipped in with a 52-yard run four minutes later as Georgia cut West Virginia's lead to 31-21 by halftime.

But for all of Georgia's offensive success over the last three quarters, it never got a handle on West Virginia's spread-option offense.

"They executed beautifully," Richt said. "If I hadn't been coaching against it, I would have enjoyed watching it."