WVU’s Dynamic Duo Ranks High on List of All-Time Best College Football Playmakers

Even with a new college football season ahead, it’s always fun for sports fans to reflect on great memories of the past. And for WVU fans, there are no better memories than when Pat White and Steve Slaton were running all over Mountaineer Field.

White and Slaton received some recent respect when Bard Crawford of 247 Sports and CBS Sports put together a list of college football’s 50 all-time playmaking duos. Of course, White and Slaton found themselves pretty high up on this list, clocking in at No. 3 overall.

According to Crawford, only the combination of USC Heisman winners Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush and Florida’s Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin were better than West Virginia’s dynamic duo.

College football's Top 10 all-time best playmaking duos, according to @BCrawford247 👀

Which duo do y'all think should be higher?

Full Top 50 duos of all-time 🔗 https://t.co/XoZctMzPtJ pic.twitter.com/YzVba8zmNL

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) July 3, 2024

Below is what Crawford had to say about White and Slaton.

“Perhaps the most underrated backfield in college football history, Pat White and Steve Slaton humiliated opposing defenses three consecutive years together at West Virginia. Slaton finished fourth in Heisman voting as a sophomore in 2006 with 1,744 yards rushing and 16 scores. He compiled 50 rushing touchdowns over his three-year tenure in Morgantown. White was equally nightmarish on the ground, earning a pair of top-10 Heisman finishes in 2007 and 2008. He scored 40 times on the ground over his final three seasons, including a 1,219 yard-effort in 2006 as a sophomore and 1,335 more yards in 2007. That Mountaineers ground attack in 2006 is one of the most prolific ever.”

The WVU legends have to share a spot in the top 10 with two other college football legends who played their home games in West Virginia. Crawford also has Chad Pennington and Randy Moss at No. 6 from their time together at Marshall.

“Marshall’s 1997 season was one of the most memorable in program history as Chad Pennington and Randy Moss hooked to form one of the most formidable tandems we’ve ever seen offensively. Moss averaged a jaw-dropping 18.3 yards per catch in his only season with the Thundering Herd, hauling in 90 receptions for 1,647 yards and a nation-leading 25 touchdowns. Known as sticky fingers around the locker room, Moss caught everything thrown his way and Pennington knew just putting the football in his vicinity would result in a chunk play,” said Crawford about Pennington and Moss.  

For a related story, Johnny Manziel named Pat White as one of his most entertaining college football quarterbacks ever.