MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Noel Devine for the Heisman.

Why not?

Crunch the numbers together, consider what the West Virginia junior running back has done through seven games, then throw in the wild card -- the way he seems to unwaveringly make a big play late in games the Mountaineers win -- and it isn't far-fetched that a groundswell that's begun has heavy justification.

"If there's a better guy in the country, I'd like to see him," West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said. "I haven't seen a better one than No. 7."

This much is certain: To quantify Devine's body of work to this point in the season is to come up with an assessment that he is one of the premier running backs in the country.

The 5-foot-8 mighty mite leads the Big East Conference and is third in the country at 130.3 yards per game. He is also averaging 6.1 yards a carry, and his 912 yards is third among backs whose teams have played seven games.

The impressive statistic, the one that shows how important Devine is to the Mountaineers is this: In five of the six West Virginia victories this season, he has scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

"All he does is take the ball and close games for us," Stewart said. "He's our closer. When we need it, he wills himself to a touchdown. You tell me, is that a special quality in a young man, or what?"

None of those touchdowns -- and Devine has 10 in seven games -- was more crucial than what he did to put an end to a Connecticut team that was standing and slugging it out on Saturday.

Down 24-21, West Virginia got the ball just after a Connecticut touchdown on its own 20 with 3:50 remaining. The Mountaineers went to their two-minute offense.

In an escape from traditionalist mode, Stewart's two-minute offense, implemented by he and offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen isn't all through the air. No, crazy as it sounds, when you have a running back such as Devine, even with the clock dwindling, you use him.

"Sometimes you get booed for not throwing in a two-minute drill," Stewart said. "But, how many times have you seen Mountaineer football, this year and last, run a ball with two minutes or a minute to go -- and everyone thinks you should be [throwing it] -- and it goes to the house?"

That's precisely what happened on a first-and-10 from the Huskies 44, when Devine made a zone read on the outside edge, stayed the course down the sideline, walked a boundary tightrope and outran everyone.

Funny thing is, he even outran the expectations of his coach.

"We wanted to get the first down," Stewart said. "And then get out of bounds."

Devine sort of ruined those plans.

Instead of a first down, he ran 56 yards for the game-winning touchdown; instead of getting out of bounds, he rambled all the way to the end zone.

"The [Connecticut defender] took an angle that looked good on film," Stewart said. "But, Noel is a jet and that is the difference between maybe a 6-, 8-, 12-yard gain or something like that, and he gets tackled or pushed out of bounds and then what he did."

Those still pictures of Devine roaring free through secondaries that push across photo wires, and those moving shots that blare into television sets are why, just maybe, he might start to receive some Heisman consideration -- and he'd go a long way to receive more consideration with a stellar output in Friday's nationally televised game at South Florida.

Running free has become commonplace, as his 56-yard score was his fourth rushing touchdown this season of more than 20 yards, joining a 71-yard bolt at Auburn, a 77-yard scamper against Colorado and a 24-yard run when Liberty visited Mountaineer Field.

After the game Saturday, veteran reporter Mickey Furfari, who has covered the Mountaineers for more than 60 years, began a line of questioning with Devine.

"You are more productive this year ..." Furfari said, before politely being cut off by Devine.

Devine then smiled and offered, "That's why it is last year. You are supposed to get better."

Indeed, he has.

There's no denying he is among the best in college football.

Is Devine a bona fide Heisman candidate? Some are beginning to think so.

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NOTE -- West Virginia is ranked 20th in the Associated Press poll, 21 in the BCS.

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