In the end, Arizona State's pass defense was too much to overcome.
West Virginia's Skyler Howard threw for a career-best 532 yards, which included the winning touchdown pass in the final minutes, to lift the Mountaineers to a wild 43-42 win over the Sun Devils in Saturday's Motel 6 Cactus Bowl.
At Chase Field in downtown Phoenix, ASU dropped to 6-7, suffering its first losing season since 2011, Dennis Erickson's final year. West Virginia finished 8-5.
The Mountaineers had 17 passing plays of 15-plus yards. Overall, they totaled 676 yards.
BOX SCORE: West Virginia 43, ASU 42
For most of the contest, ASU countered with Tim White.