ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Steve Slaton and No. 11 West Virginia ran all over eighth-ranked Georgia. Even punter Phil Brady got into the act.

Slaton set a Sugar Bowl record for rushing yards with 204 and Brady essentially iced the game on a fake punt in the closing minutes as the Mountaineers posted a thrilling 38-35 victory over the Bulldogs.

Nursing a three-point lead with just under two minutes to play, West Virginia lined up in a spread-punt formation at the Georgia 48 on 4th-and-8. Brady took the snap and took off behind three blockers, picking up 10 yards and essentially ending the game.

"We actually almost called (the fake punt) two times earlier," West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said. "We've practiced that for a couple of months. It's a check for us. If they don't give us the look we wanted, we can go to something else. We couldn't stop them, so yeah, that was that feeling (they would score if they got the ball back). D.J. (Shockley) was making plays. They're so talented over there, so there was that thought in my mind."

"We were definitely looking for a return," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "We didn't think they would do that. (You've) got to give them credit, it takes a lot of nerve to do that at that point (in the game)."

A true freshman, Slaton ran for 924 yards and 14 scores in just nine games this season and the Big East Rookie of the Year continued his breakout season by gashing the Georgia defense just about every time he touched the ball.

Entering the game, most of the talk was about whether the Mountaineers would even be able to stay in the game with Georgia, but Slaton and the Mountaineers made that point moot before the end of the first quarter.

Slaton opened the scoring with a 52-yard TD run just under three minutes into the game and the Mountaineers stunned the Bulldogs and the partisan Georgia crowd in the Georgia Dome with a fast start.

"We just jumped out (to a fast start)," Slaton said. "We capitalized on their mistakes. That helped us out."

Pat White threw a three-yard TD pass to Darius Reynaud and Reynaud scored from 13 yards out on an end-around to make it 21-0 with 4:27 left in the opening quarter. Then Slaton, who had 26 carries, scored on an 18-yard run 50 seconds into the second quarter to make it 28-0.

"We wanted to come out with a fast tempo," White said. "And I guess it worked out pretty good for us. We just wanted to go out there and play West Virginia football and get after it. If we do what we're supposed to do and execute, I don't think anybody could stop us."

"Unfortunately we dug ourselves a big hole," Richt said. "West Virginia did just a phenomenal job of jumping on us early, running the ball extremely well, took advantage of our turnovers. When we were down 28, I didn't know if anything good was going to happen tonight."

Georgia finally woke up, scoring the next 14 points. Trailing 31-21 at the half, Georgia pulled within 31-28 on a 34-yard TD pass from D.J. Shockley to A.J. Bryant with 1:45 left in the third quarter.

Slaton's third TD run of the game, another 52-yard scamper, pushed the lead to 38-28 with 8:30 to play. The scoring burst capped a nine-play, 95-yard drive.

"I think it was a big spark for our team," Slaton said. "The fullback did a great job. I saw the safety was out to my right and I ran away from him."

"We've talked to Steve a lot about making one move and hitting it," Rodriguez said. "He did that today. I thought it helped him make some of those big runs."

Moments earlier, it looked like the Mountaineer drive was going to stall, as West Virginia faced a 3-and-10 situation from their own five yard line. But White ran for 13 yards to give the Mountaineers a crucial first down.

"That was really the only time in the game we had poor field position," Rodriguez said. "Pat White is an explosive player and we wanted to take care of it. More than anything, we wanted to change the field, to get a touchdown was a bonus."

Georgia responded with a long drive of its own, covering 90 yards in seven plays and closing to 38-35 with 5:13 to play but the Bulldogs never got the ball back.

Shockley completed 20-of-33 passes for 277 yards and three TDs.

White was 11-of-14 for 124 yards and added 79 yards on 24 carries for the Mountaineers, who rushed for 386 yards.

Reynaud led West Virginia with six receptions for 48 yards and helped power West Virginia to its first bowl victory since the 2000 Music City Bowl.

"It's a dream to play an SEC team, and people said, 'the Big East don't mean nothing,'" Reynaud said. "We came out and executed and built a 28-0 lead. After that they didn't take us lightly."

"It earns us respect when we didn't have respect before," Senior co-captain Earnest Hunter said. "Not just on an individual stage, but on a national stage. I'm just honored to be a part of it."

Pittsburgh's Tony Dorsett held the previous Sugar Bowl rushing record, racking up 202 against Georgia in 1977.