WVU nixes Nicks to win

Hakeem Nicks has 217 yards receiving en route to record-setting day, but Mountaineers take advantage of Heels' miscues to win Meineke Bowl

CHARLOTTE -- West Virginia successfully took away North Carolina wide receiver Hakeem Nicks during Saturday's fourth quarter.

As a result, the Mountaineers rallied to a 31-30 victory in the Meineke Bowl -- and left the Tar Heels (8-5) to wonder whether their most explosive playmaker will come back.

Starring in UNC's first postseason appearance since 2004, Nicks set five records and became only the third player in school history to top 200 receiving yards in one game (he finished with 217). But after scoring three touchdowns in the first half, the junior from Charlotte was held to just one catch in the final period. And when WVU's Pat Lazear intercepted T.J. Yates' pass with less than two minutes left, halting Carolina's final drive, it marked a bittersweet ending to Nicks' homecoming.

And perhaps to his college career.

"I'll start considering my future once I talk to this man right here," Nicks said, referring to coach Butch Davis, "once we get back into town. He'll play a big role in it; he's been great all year with us, we love him, and it will be based off the feedback that I get."

Playing at Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers, No. 88 showcased early what he might be able to add to the NFL, whether in 2009 or 2010.

With the Mountaineers (9-4) missing two starting defensive backs because of injuries and illness, Nicks shattered his career high in receiving yards and set school records for career receptions (he finished with 181), career touchdowns (21) and single-season touchdowns (12) -- all within the frenetic first 20 minutes.

Nicks knotted the score 7-7 in the first period when the ball went through the hands of defender Ellis Lankster, Nicks caught it, and then he dragged another defender, Keith Tandy, about 10 yards into the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown. Less than three minutes later, Nicks caught a 66-yard touchdown pass from receiver Cooter Arnold to knot the score at 14-14.

Then early in the second quarter, he snagged a 25-yarder from Yates to give his team a 23-21 lead, which held through halftime.

Davis called the performance "phenomenal," but it was also necessary, considering UNC's defense allowed quarterback Pat White (26-for-32, 332 yards, three touchdowns) and the Mountaineers to rack up 253 of their final 455 yards by the break.

"I told our defensive coaches, 'We have nobody who can cover him,' '' West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said of Nicks. "... I said, 'Do whatever you have to do.' "

What WVU did, Nicks and Davis said, was roll an extra safety toward the receiver, and sometimes drop an extra defender back to cover Nicks underneath.

"They're not dumb -- when we go deep to Hakeem several times, they're going to back up, and that's what they did,'' said Yates, who completed 15 of 25 passes.

"They backed up about 40 yards on some of those plays."

As a result, Nicks added another two catches in the third quarter, including an improbable 8-yarder during which he caught the ball near his hip with his left fingertips and passed it around his back to his right hand.

"I wouldn't say it surprised me, because I make catches like that in practice during the week,'' Nicks said. "It's more just me being an athlete, and being determined to catch the ball when it comes my way."

But in the fourth quarter, the ball rarely came his way. UNC went three-and-out once, then tailback Shaun Draughn fumbled to halt a drive.

After WVU's White found Alric Arnett for a 20-yard touchdown to give the Mountaineers a 31-30 lead, UNC had to punt on the only final-quarter drive that included a completion to Nicks (for 7 yards).

Then Lezear intercepted a first-down pass meant for Arnold, leading Nicks to leave the stadium to the chorus of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by the West Virginia faithful.

He also set school records for bowl game receiving yards and bowl game receiving touchdowns.

In all, he now holds 14 UNC receiving records.

"You talk about love, I don't know if there's been very many players I've been around that I respect as much as Hakeem,'' said Davis, who is now 4-1 in bowl games

"You want to talk about humility and being humble, to be as big a star as he is, the performance he's had over the last three years, he's a huge gamer."

But will Nicks now take his game to a higher level?

Davis said he has already spoken with general managers, scouts and position coaches from roughly 10 different NFL squads about the 6-1, 210-pounder, and plans to meet with the player and his family in the coming days.

"I told him, 'When we sit down and we talk, you're going to get the truth. And I'm going to tell it to you exactly the way it is,' and then I'm going to support him,'' Davis said. "Whatever it is he decides to do, I've got his back. Butch Davis is a Hakeem Nicks fan for the rest of my life."

And so, despite Saturday's loss, are many others.