MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- How about a description, a thumbnail summary of the week he just went through?

Around 3:30 p.m. yesterday, and after an exhaustive, narrow loss, Connecticut coach Randy Edsall was asked to encapsulate the past seven days -- his emotions, his grief, dealing with tragedy and then leading the Huskies, still in the throes of dealing with the death of a teammate, into one of their biggest games of the season.

"I can't right now," he said. "I'm just at a loss for words."

There was a football game played here yesterday.

In truth, it was a brilliant, back-and-forth Big East Conference clash, with No. 22 West Virginia (6-1, 2-0) earning a 28-24 victory against Connecticut (4-3, 1-2) in front of 58,106.

The winning points? Those came when West Virginia running back Noel Devine, who gained 178 yards, scooted to his right, rocketed down the sideline and scored on a 56-yard run with 1:40 remaining. His touchdown provided the seventh lead change on the overcast day and turned a 24-21 disadvantage into one of the most exciting wins in recent memory at Mountaineer Field.

The same fans who stood and cheered as Devine tiptoed the sideline, earlier gave Connecticut a booming standing ovation when the Huskies took the field.

Some cried.

Some held signs.

But, seemingly every fan understood the enormity of this game for the visiting Huskies.

Connecticut came here still in the clutches of grief after junior cornerback Jasper Howard, 20, was stabbed to death, on the school's campus, early last Sunday.

Howard's funeral is tomorrow in Miami, his hometown; his teammates will attend the service. But, yesterday, at the insistence and with the blessing of Howard's family, the game went on, serving as a football-themed wake and a celebration of his life.

Howard's white, No. 6 jersey stood watch, hanging from a hook on the sideline during the game. Before the game -- after Connecticut took the field to an ovation -- both teams stood as a pall fell over the stadium, and a moment of silence was observed.

Players from both sides then met at the center of the field for a pregame handshake before the crowd erupted in applause.

"I thought the fans from West Virginia were very gracious and very humbling," Edsall said. "I've come down to West Virginia when I was [an assistant at] Syracuse and Boston College, and now here with Connecticut, and I know what type of fans are here and how they root so hard for their football team.

"Their sportsmanship and the love and concern that they showed for our team, I don't know if you've ever seen that in sports. My hat is off to them. ... I would just like to say 'Thank you' to them."

For West Virginia defensive lineman Chris Neild, who sealed the victory with an interception with 1:14 remaining as the Huskies were hurriedly driving in an attempt to extract a last-second win, the day was a zigzag of emotions.

"All the stuff before the game was tough, I'm not going to lie, it was emotional, man," said Neild, one of the toughest players on West Virginia's roster. "But once we kicked off, we had to understand we had to go out and play a football game."

And it was a game that began with West Virginia spurting to the best possible start -- a 98-yard touchdown when freshman Tavon Austin returned the opening kickoff for a score.

From there, Connecticut built a 10-7 lead on a 5-yard touchdown run by Jordan Todman in the first quarter and a 38-yard field goal by Dave Taggart with 2:53 left before the half.

Connecticut's defense confused the sputtering West Virginia offense in the first half, blitzing quarterback Jarrett Brown on virtually every snap. The heavy pressure was an escape from tendency for Edsall, who was groomed on the defensive side of the ball.

"I would have crinkled up the game plan at halftime," West Virginia offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen said. "I would have, except that it was laminated."

The Mountaineers got things together late in the first half, taking a 14-10 lead when Brown scrambled in from 5 yards, only to see Connecticut score with 21 seconds left before halftime on a 17-yard pass from Washington, Pa., native Cody Endres to Kashif Moore.

That 17-14 Connecticut lead carried through to late in the third quarter. That's when West Virginia tight end Tyler Urban reeled in a 1-yard pass to give the Mountaineers a 21-17 lead. That advantage evaporated with 3:50 left on an 88-yard pitch-and-catch from Endres to Marcus Easley.

That set the stage for Devine's winning flash down the sideline.

"I'm glad we were the winner," West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said. "But, I compliment the class with which our opponent carried themselves this week."

And it was some week -- one Edsall couldn't put into words.

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