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MORGANTOWN - Pat White can go home now, as he said, with his "head held as high as ever.''

Billy Stewart and Jeff Mullen can finally walk out the front door the same way.

It's amazing how perceptions can change so dramatically in a space of just three short hours.

In this case, the notion that West Virginia's once-powerful offense has somehow wilted and died was put to rest Thursday night when the Mountaineers absolutely crushed one of the best defenses in the country.

With White back at the controls and overcoming two early interceptions with three touchdown passes and with Noel Devine ripping off big run after big run on his way to 207 yards rushing, West Virginia scored 31 straight points over the final 21/2 quarters and blasted Auburn, 34-17.

This from an offense that had averaged just 17 points over the past five games and was making even some of the country's worst defenses look like some of the best. This time the Mountaineers made one of the best look absolutely pedestrian.

"I would hope that this is the way we can play every game now,'' White said.

In a game that was bound to elevate the winner from a season-long funk and send the loser deeper into one, the Mountaineers (5-2) won their fourth straight, but their first of the season in anything close to impressive fashion. The flip side now is Auburn, which lost for the fourth time in the past five games and slipped to 4-4, surely did not give embattled coach Tommy Tuberville what he needed.

But it was just what Stewart and Mullen - WVU's first-year head coach and offensive coordinator, respectively - needed. They did some things differently in this one and befuddled the Tigers at every turn.

More than anything, though, everyone simply seems to have become comfortable with everyone else.

"This is a dynamic offense, but people just don't realize how hard it was for everyone to come together this year,'' said receiver Dorrell Jalloh, whose caught two of White's three touchdown passes. "We had to be patient. It was a new offense for us and new players for [the coaches]. Now we're beginning to get things done.''

 Click to view slideshow of game photos

MORGANTOWN - Pat White can go home now, as he said, with his "head held as high as ever.''

Billy Stewart and Jeff Mullen can finally walk out the front door the same way.

It's amazing how perceptions can change so dramatically in a space of just three short hours.

In this case, the notion that West Virginia's once-powerful offense has somehow wilted and died was put to rest Thursday night when the Mountaineers absolutely crushed one of the best defenses in the country.

With White back at the controls and overcoming two early interceptions with three touchdown passes and with Noel Devine ripping off big run after big run on his way to 207 yards rushing, West Virginia scored 31 straight points over the final 21/2 quarters and blasted Auburn, 34-17.

This from an offense that had averaged just 17 points over the past five games and was making even some of the country's worst defenses look like some of the best. This time the Mountaineers made one of the best look absolutely pedestrian.

"I would hope that this is the way we can play every game now,'' White said.

In a game that was bound to elevate the winner from a season-long funk and send the loser deeper into one, the Mountaineers (5-2) won their fourth straight, but their first of the season in anything close to impressive fashion. The flip side now is Auburn, which lost for the fourth time in the past five games and slipped to 4-4, surely did not give embattled coach Tommy Tuberville what he needed.

But it was just what Stewart and Mullen - WVU's first-year head coach and offensive coordinator, respectively - needed. They did some things differently in this one and befuddled the Tigers at every turn.

More than anything, though, everyone simply seems to have become comfortable with everyone else.

"This is a dynamic offense, but people just don't realize how hard it was for everyone to come together this year,'' said receiver Dorrell Jalloh, whose caught two of White's three touchdown passes. "We had to be patient. It was a new offense for us and new players for [the coaches]. Now we're beginning to get things done.''

For a while, it didn't appear the Mountaineers would get much of anything done when White threw interceptions on the first two series and Auburn turned those into a 10-0 lead and then capitalized on a long kickoff return to make it 17-3 early in the second quarter.

But West Virginia never panicked, primarily because Auburn hadn't come close to stopping the offense from moving the football. From that point on, West Virginia outscored the Tigers 31-0, the defense forced five three-and-outs and six punts and the offense just went nuts. By the time all was said and done, WVU held a 445-260 edge in total yards, averaged 8.3 yards per play and scored on six of the next eight possessions, all against the No. 14 defense in the country.

"We never panicked because we had so much time left,'' Mullen said. "And when we looked back, it was all our doing, the turnovers. All we had to do was keep doing what we were doing.''

Things began turning just when Auburn looked like it would run away and hide. The Tigers not only had that 17-3 lead, they had just successfully executed an onside kick and had the ball near midfield. On the first play after the onside kick, the Tigers ran a reverse to try and get more.

It turned on that play when Montez Billings was caught for a 7-yard loss on the play and the Tigers never were the same. West Virginia dominated both defensively and offensively virtually every minute after that.

"That was colossal,'' Stewart said.

West Virginia then went to work, using a 20-yard Devine run to set up White's 44-yard touchdown heave to Alric Arnett. And it was a heave, White throwing the ball just as he was being drilled by defensive end Michael Goggans and hitting an open Arnett in stride for the score to narrow the gap to 17-10, which is where it stayed until halftime.

"I knew he had wheels,'' White said of Arnett. I knew if I threw it up he could get to it.''

To start the second half, the Mountaineers dominated defensively (two straight three-and-outs) and offensively (two possessions covered 127 yards in 20 plays) to take the lead for the first time on Pat McAfee's 42-yard field goal and White's 2-yard touchdown pass to Jalloh. The touchdown capped a 93-yard drive that included 13- to 15-yard runs by three different backs - Devine, Jock Sanders and Mark Rodgers - and a 16-yard pass from White to Arnett that put the ball on the Auburn 2. Jalloh scored one play later.

The Tigers had a chance to tie the score early in the fourth, but Wes Byrum hooked a 44-yard field goal attempt wide to the right. Then West Virginia went right back to work on offense, getting a quick 35-yard run from Devine to start a drive and a spectacular catch and run from Jalloh to finish it. Jalloh caught a short drag route over the middle designed to convert a short third down, jumped over one defender, bounced off another and danced into the end zone to give the Mountaineers a 27-17 lead.

The way the defense was playing, that sealed it. But the offense still added on more, getting a 30-yard run from Devine with 2:26 to play, capping an 89-yard drive to make it 34-17 and set off a long-awaited celebration in front of 60,765 at Mountaineer Field.

Reach Dave Hickman at 348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.