2009 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

2009 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Gator Bowl, L 21–33 vs. Florida State
ConferenceBig East Conference
Ranking
BCSNo. 16
CoachesNo. 22
APNo. 25
Record9–4 (5–2 Big East)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJeff Mullen (2nd season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorJeff Casteel (8th season)
Base defense3–3–5
Home stadiumMountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium
(Capacity: 60,000)
Seasons
← 2008
2010 →
2009 Big East Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 8 Cincinnati $   7 0     12 1  
No. 25 West Virginia   5 2     9 4  
No. 15 Pittsburgh   5 2     10 3  
Rutgers   3 4     9 4  
Connecticut   3 4     8 5  
South Florida   3 4     8 5  
Louisville   1 6     4 8  
Syracuse   1 6     4 8  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2009 West Virginia Mountaineer football team represented West Virginia University in the college football season of 2009. The Mountaineers were led by head coach Bill Stewart and played their home games on Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia. The Mountaineers finished the season 9–4 (5–2 Big East) and lost in the Gator Bowl 33–21 to Florida State.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 5NoonLiberty*ESPN+W 33–2057,950[1]
September 123:30 p.m.East Carolina*
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, West Virginia
ESPN360W 35–2059,216[2]
September 197:45 p.m.at Auburn*ESPN2L 30–4187,451[3]
October 17:30 p.m.Colorado*
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, West Virginia (Gold Rush)
ESPNW 35–2460,055[4]
October 10Noonat SyracuseESPN+W 34–1340,144[5]
October 173:30 p.m.Marshall*
ESPN+W 24–754,432[6]
October 24NoonConnecticutdaggerNo. 22
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, West Virginia
ESPNUW 28–2458,106[7]
October 308:00 p.m.at South FloridaNo. 20ESPN2L 19–3056,328[8]
November 7NoonLouisville
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, West Virginia
ESPN+W 17–955,334[9]
November 138:00 p.m.at No. 5 CincinnatiNo. 23ESPN2L 21–2435,105[10]
November 277:00 p.m.No. 9 Pittsburgh
ESPN2W 19–1656,123[11]
December 5Noonat RutgersNo. 23ESPNW 24–2152,534[12]
January 11:00 p.m.vs. Florida State*No. 17CBSL 21–3384,129[13]

Game summaries

Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total
Flames 3 7 3 7 20
Mountaineers 10 13 3 7 33

Jarrett Brown completed 19 of 26 passes for 243 yards and ran for a 22-yard touchdown, and redshirt freshman Tyler Bitancurt kicked four field goals to lead West Virginia to a 33–20 season-opening victory over Liberty.

East Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total
Pirates 10 10 0 0 20
Mountaineers 7 14 7 7 35

West Virginia was able to overcome a mistake filled day to gain some payback on the East Carolina Pirates. Quarterback Jarrett Brown had a career day completing 24 of 31 passes for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns, including a 58-yard bomb to freshman Tavon Austin. Brown also picked up 73 yards on the ground.

Auburn

1 2 3 4 Total
Mountaineers 21 0 9 0 30
Tigers 10 10 7 14 41

All-time record: Tied 1–1

This was the second meeting between West Virginia and Auburn, with the Mountaineers winning the first game 34–17 during the 2008 season.

Colorado

1 2 3 4 Total
Buffaloes 7 3 7 7 24
Mountaineers 7 7 7 14 35

All-time record: Tied 1–1

This was the second meeting between West Virginia and Colorado, with the Buffaloes winning the first game 17–14 in overtime during the 2008 season. The game was designated a Gold Rush, meaning that fans attended the game wearing all gold. West Virginia scored early with a Noel Devine 77-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage. Colorado responded with a 36-yard run from tailback Rodney Stewart. They then took the lead by making a 39-yard field goal.(He had missed 2 field goals earlier in the game.)West Virginia responded with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Jarrett Brown to Jock Sanders. Despite 4 fumbles lost in the first half for West Virginia, they still led 14–10 at halftime. The second half started with a 48-yard touchdown pass to receiver Bradley Starks to put the Mountaineers up 21–10, Colorado responded by converting on 4th and 10 for a 26-yard touchdown to trim the lead to 4. In the 4th quarter, freshmen fullback Ryan Clarke rumbled for a 1-yard touchdown run, and later ran for an 8-yard run putting the Mountaineers up 35–17 with 2 minutes to play. Colorado scored the final touchdown of the night with 3 seconds left, but it was too late for any sort of comeback as the Mountaineers won 35–24. Noel Devine had a career-high 220 yards rushing with an average of 10 yards per carry.

Syracuse

1 2 3 4 Total
Mountaineers 14 13 0 7 34
Orange 0 0 6 7 13

WVU jumped out to a 27–0 halftime lead en route to beating the Orange for an 8th straight time. Jarrett Brown completed 22–30 passing for 244 yards and a touchdown pass to Noel Devine, who also had 97 yards on the ground with a touchdown.

Marshall

1 2 3 4 Total
Thundering Herd 7 0 0 0 7
Mountaineers 0 3 7 14 24

Starting QB Jarrett Brown was knocked out of the game on the Mountaineer's opening drive, forcing true freshman Geno Smith to step in. The emotional punch of having Brown out of the game showed as Marshall was able to head into the half with a 7–3 lead. WVU responded by scoring on its first possession of the second half, on the way to 21 second half points. Smith finished 15–21 passing for 147 yards and a touchdown, Noel Devine added 103 yards on the ground scoring 2 touchdowns

Connecticut

1 2 3 4 Total
Huskies 7 10 0 7 24
#22 Mountaineers 7 7 7 7 28

South Florida

1 2 3 4 Total
#20 Mountaineers 9 3 7 0 19
Bulls 10 10 7 3 30

Louisville

1 2 3 4 Total
Cardinals 0 6 0 3 9
Mountaineers 0 7 10 0 17

Cincinnati

1 2 3 4 Total
Mountaineers 7 7 0 7 21
#5 Bearcats 7 7 7 3 24

Pittsburgh

1 2 3 4 Total
#8 Panthers 0 3 3 10 16
Mountaineers 0 3 10 6 19

West Virginia's Tyler Bitancurt kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired to give WVU a win in the 102nd Backyard Brawl. The 2009 Backyard Brawl, broadcast by ESPN2, was the most watched college football game in the history of ESPN2.

Rutgers

1 2 3 4 Total
#24 Mountaineers 14 0 7 3 24
Scarlet Knights 3 0 11 7 21

Florida State

1 2 3 4 Total
#18 Mountaineers 14 0 0 7 21
Seminoles 3 10 10 10 33

2010 Konica Minolta Gator Bowl marked the final game for legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who also spent six seasons as head coach at West Virginia.

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP2220241825
Coaches222023231722
HarrisNot released2320242518Not released
BCSNot released2321252316Not released

Statistics

WVU Team Statistics Through 6 Games (10/18/09)

WVU OPP
SCORING 191  125 
  Points per Game 31.8  20.8 
FIRST DOWNS 121  95 
  Rushing 55  29 
  Passing 60  57 
  Penalty
RUSHING YARDAGE 1,108  481 
  Rushing Yards Gained 1,279  661 
  Rushing Yards Lost 171  180 
  Rushing Attempts 223  182 
  Average Per Rush 5.0  2.6 
  Average Per Game 184.7  80.2 
  Rushing TDs 16 
PASSING YARDAGE 1,451  1,276 
  Comp-Att-Int 120–174–6  111–220–9 
  Average Per Pass 8.3  5.8 
  Average Per Catch 12.1  11.5 
  Average Per Game 241.1  212.7 
  Passing TDs 10 
TOTAL OFFENSE 2,559  1,757 
  Total Plays 397  402 
  Avg per Play 6.4  4.4 
  Avg per Game 426.5  292.8 
WVU OPP
KICK RETURNS: #-Yards-TD 24–518–0  34–736–0 
KICK RETURN AVERAGE 21.6  21.6 
PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards-TD 13–160–0  11–111–0 
PUNT RETURN AVERAGE 12.3  10.1 
FUMBLES-LOST 16–11  8–3 
PENALTIES-Yards 36–337  37–305  −0   Avg per Game 56.2  50.8 
PUNTS-Yards 23–1,065  34–1,410 
  Avg Per Punt 46.3  41.5 
  Net Punt Average 38.9  35.0 
TIME OF POSSESSION/Game 31:32  28:28 
3RD DOWN CONVERSIONS 35/76  32/95 
  3rd Down Pct 46%  34% 
4TH DOWN CONVERSIONS 1/4  4/9 
  4th Down Pct 25%  44% 
SACKS BY-Yards 14–88  9–89 
TOUCHDOWNS SCORED 25  15 
RED-ZONE SCORING 20–23 87%  9–12 75% 
FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS 6–6  7–11 
PAT-ATTEMPTS 23–24 96%  14–15 93% 
ATTENDANCE 231,653  127,595 
  Games/Avg per Game 3/59,074  2/63,798 

Scores by quarter

1 2 3 4 Total
West Virginia 59 50 33 49 191
Opponents 37 30 23 35 125

Offense

Rushing

Name GP Att Net Avg TD Long Avg/G
Noel Devine  114  734  6.4  77  122.3 
Jarrett Brown  50  209  4.2  26  34.8 
Jock Sanders  11  62  5.9  12  10.8 
Ryan Clarke  19  61  3.2  12.2 
Shawne Alston  18  3.0  3.6 
Geno Smith  15  2.1  13  5.0 
Tavon Austin  4.0  1.3 
Coley White  2.3  13  7.0 
Mark Rodgers  1.2  0.8 
Brad Starks  −3  −1.5  −0.5 
TEAM −11  −2.2  −2.2 
               
Total 223  1,108  5.0  16  77  184.7 
Opponents 182  481  2.6  36  80.2 

Passing

Name GP Att-Comp Pct Yds TD INT Lng Avg/G
Jarrett Brown 96–140  68.6  1,209  5 58  201.5 
Geno Smith 23–33  69.7  211  1 33  70.0 
Brad Starks 1–1  100  31  0 31  5.2 
               
Total 120–174  69.0  1,451  58  241.0 
Opponents 111–220  50.5  1,279  10  82  212.7 

Receiving

Name GP No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G
Jock Sanders  41  394  9.6  38  78.8 
Brad Starks  14  296  21.1  58  59.2 
Alric Arnett  14  194  13.9  46  38.8 
Noel Devine  11  72  6.5  17  14.4 
Tavon Austin  103  12.9  58  20.6 
Wes Lyons  76  12.7  16  15.2 
Tyler Urban  72  18.0  33  14.4 
Will Johnson  63  15.8  33  12.6 
Ryan Clark  15  7.5  3.0 
               
Total 104  1,285  12.4  58  257.0 
Opponents 94  1,127  12.0  10  82  225.4 

Special teams

Name Punting Kickoffs
No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd No. Yds Avg TB OB
Total
Name Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Yds Avg TD Long No. Yds Avg TD Long
Total

References

  1. ^ "Liberty Flames vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 20, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  2. ^ "East Carolina Pirates vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  3. ^ "West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Auburn Tigers Box Score". ESPN. Archived from the original on April 29, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  4. ^ "Colorado Buffaloes vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  5. ^ "West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Syracuse Orange Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  6. ^ "Marshall Thundering Herd vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  7. ^ "Connecticut Huskies vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  8. ^ "West Virginia Mountaineers vs. South Florida Bulls Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  9. ^ "Louisville Cardinals vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  10. ^ "West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  11. ^ "Pittsburgh Panthers vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  12. ^ "West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  13. ^ "West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Florida State Seminoles Box Score". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 20, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.