WVU to Honor 2005 Sugar Bowl Team, Steve Slaton vs. Colorado

The WVU Varsity Club has announced that there will be a celebration for the 2005 Sugar Bowl Champions, and new College Football Hall of Fame inductee Steve Slaton. This event will take place during the Colorado game on November 8th. This 2025 season will be the 20th anniversary of this great team, and of course, both teams were coached by Rich Rodriguez.

The 2005 Mountaineers started the season strongly, going 4-0 with victories over arch rivals Syracuse and Maryland. They suffered a setback in the fifth game versus Virginia Tech, which was ranked number three in the country at the time.

WVU history would be forever changed in week seven when quarterback Adam Bednarik went down with an injury against Louisville. Freshman Pat White would come in and lead a comeback in the fourth quarter down 24-7. The Mountaineers would go on to defeat the 19th-ranked Cardinals 46-44 in triple overtime. They went on to win the final four regular season games, claiming a Big East Championship.

The team would cap off this special season with a bid to the Sugar Bowl, which was an illustrious BCS Bowl at the time. They faced off against the SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs, and jumped out to a 28-0 lead. Georgia had a mighty comeback, but ultimately the Mountaineers became Sugar Bowl champions with a final score of 38-35. Freshman running back Steve Slaton made his presence known as he carried the ball 26 times, totaling 204 yards and three touchdowns.

Slaton was announced as a member of the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class earlier this offseason. He rushed for 1,128 yards and 12 touchdowns during this special season for the Mountaineers. He would go on to have 4,728 yards from scrimmage and 55 total touchdowns in his career. To add to his resume, he was named to the 2006 consensus All-American team, as well as finishing fourth in the Heisman trophy voting.

Former Mountaineer and current media superstar, Pat McAfee, was also a member of this 2005 roster. This could be a big opportunity for his show to be in town with the celebration, and with Deion Sanders coming to town.

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