COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Steve Slaton was outstanding, as usual. No one, however, expected West Virginia's running game to be so Devine. Slaton ran for 137 yards and three touchdowns, Noel Devine amassed 125 yards on his first three carries, and No. 4 West Virginia cruised past Maryland 31-14 Thursday night.

West Virginia quarterback Patrick White (5) runs for a 22-yard touchdown against Maryland during the first quarter of a college football game, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Slaton scored on runs of 22, 1 and 1 yards. He has 41 touchdowns at West Virginia, one short of the school record shared by Ira Errett Rodgers and Avon Cobourne.

The 5-foot-8 Devine served as a Slaton's setup man. Early in the third quarter, Devine ran 31 yards to the Maryland 1, putting Slaton in position for his second TD run.

Late in the period, Devine rambled 76 yards to the Maryland 1. Slaton scored on the next play to put the Mountaineers up 28-7.

In the fourth quarter, Devine ran for 18 yards to place West Virginia (3-0) in position for a field goal.

Devine, a freshman, finished with 136 yards rushing on five attempts.

Keon Lattimore ran for 80 yards and a touchdown for Maryland (2-1). The Terrapins yielded a total of 350 yards in their first two games; West Virginia finished with 448.

West Virginia took the second-half kickoff and moved 63 yards in nine plays to go up 21-7. Three punts later, Devine's 76-yard run — tied for the longest non-scoring carry in WVU history — helped put the Mountaineers up by 21.

It was 31-7 before Maryland's Jordan Steffy threw his first career touchdown pass, a 22-yarder to Danny Oquendo with 5:50 left.

A year ago, Maryland fell behind West Virginia 28-0 in the first quarter en route to a 45-27 loss. The Terrapins were determined to get off to a better start this time, but instead were thrust into an immediate flashback of last season's disaster.

On the first play from scrimmage, Steffy mishandled the snap and the Mountaineers' Johnny Dingle recovered. Two plays later, West Virginia quarterback Pat White ran 20 yards for a touchdown with 45 seconds elapsed.

This time, however, the Terrapins bounced back. Five plays after Steffy completed a 33-yard pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey on third-and-10 from the West Virginia 49, Lattimore ran in from the 4. It was his sixth touchdown of the season, matching the total of his previous three years.

Early in the second quarter, West Virginia's Owen Schmitt broke loose on a 44-yard run to the Maryland 23. Slaton then ran to the 2, but the march fizzled before Pat McAfee botched a 22-yard field goal try.

The Mountaineers got it right on their next possession. After White completed a 35-yard pass to Darius Reynaud on a third-and-11 play, Slaton scored on a 22-yard run.