2008 West Virginia Mountaineers football team
Encyclopedia
The 2008 West Virginia Mountaineers
football team competed on behalf of West Virginia University
during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season
. The team was coached by Bill Stewart
, who took over after he led the Mountaineers to a 2008 Fiesta Bowl
victory over the #3 Oklahoma Sooners
as the interim
head coach after the departure of former head coach Rich Rodriguez
. The team finished the season with a 9–4 record and a win over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
is the Mountaineers 32nd head coach in school history. He returns defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel
and defensive line coach Bill Kirelawich. His new hirings are associate head coach, recruiting coordinator, fullback, and tight ends coach Doc Holliday, assistant head coach and safeties coach Steve Dunlap, running backs coach Chris Beatty
, offensive line coach Dave Johnson, and cornerbacks coach David Lockwood. Jeff Mullen
, former quarterbacks coach at Wake Forest
, was announced as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The receivers coach was named on January 29, Lonnie Galloway, the receivers coach from Appalachian State
.
was four-for-four on field goals with a long of 47 yards, and starting quarterback Pat White and backup Jarrett Brown
both had touchdown passes. Brown also had a four-yard touchdown run and two backup kickers hit a field goal each. The defense recorded six sacks in total, and walk-on linebacker Najee Good led all tacklers with 10 tackles. Sophomore linebacker Pat Lazear had the only interception on the game off of a White pass. Backup runningback led all ballcarriers with 54 yards on 17 carries while sophomore Brandon Hogan led all receivers with 49 yards on 6 catches.
class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;">
Team Opp
Punts-Yards
Avg per Punt
Time of Possession/Game
3rd Down Conversions
4th Down Conversions
Touchdowns Scored
Field Goals-Attempts-Long
PAT-Attempts
Attendance
Games/Avg per Game
West Virginia Mountaineers
The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams of West Virginia University. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Big East Conference. On July 1, 2012 the Mountaineers will switch conferences, moving from the Big East to the Big 12, becoming...
football team competed on behalf of West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season
2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 28, 2008, progressing through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida on January 8, 2009, where the #2...
. The team was coached by Bill Stewart
Bill Stewart (football coach)
Bill "Stew" Stewart is an American football coach. He was named interim head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers after Rich Rodriguez left for Michigan in December 2007. After leading the Mountaineers to a 48–28 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl, he was formally...
, who took over after he led the Mountaineers to a 2008 Fiesta Bowl
2008 Fiesta Bowl
The 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game sponsored by Tostitos. It was part of the 2007–2008 Bowl Championship Series of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Played annually since 1971, first at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe,...
victory over the #3 Oklahoma Sooners
2007 Oklahoma Sooners football team
The 2007 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2007-2008, winning the Big 12 Conference Championship for the fifth time in eight years. The team was led by head coach Bob Stoops...
as the interim
Interim
Interim is an album by British rock band The Fall, compiled from live and studio material and released in 2004. It features the first officially released versions of "Clasp Hands", "Blindness" and "What About Us?" — all of which were later included on the band's next studio album Fall Heads Roll —...
head coach after the departure of former head coach Rich Rodriguez
Rich Rodriguez
Richard A. "Rich" Rodriguez is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the University of Arizona. Rodriguez previously served as the head football coach at Salem University , Glenville State College , West Virginia University , and the University...
. The team finished the season with a 9–4 record and a win over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Schedule
Coaching staff
Head coach Bill StewartBill Stewart (football coach)
Bill "Stew" Stewart is an American football coach. He was named interim head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers after Rich Rodriguez left for Michigan in December 2007. After leading the Mountaineers to a 48–28 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl, he was formally...
is the Mountaineers 32nd head coach in school history. He returns defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel
Jeff Casteel
Jeff Casteel is the current defensive coordinator for the West Virginia Mountaineers football team. Casteel also is the linebackers coach for the Mountaineers.-Early Life and Coaching:...
and defensive line coach Bill Kirelawich. His new hirings are associate head coach, recruiting coordinator, fullback, and tight ends coach Doc Holliday, assistant head coach and safeties coach Steve Dunlap, running backs coach Chris Beatty
Chris Beatty
Christopher Beatty is an American football assistant coach. Beatty was formerly the running backs and slot receivers coach for the West Virginia Mountaineers football team...
, offensive line coach Dave Johnson, and cornerbacks coach David Lockwood. Jeff Mullen
Jeff Mullen
Jeff Mullen is an American football offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and the current offensive coordinator of the Charlotte 49ers. Mullen was previously an assistant coach at Ohio University, Wake Forest, and West Virginia University.-Early life:...
, former quarterbacks coach at Wake Forest
Demon Deacon
The Demon Deacon is the mascot of Wake Forest University, a school located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Probably best known for its slightly unorthodox name and appearance, the Demon Deacon has become a mainstay in the world of U.S. college mascots....
, was announced as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The receivers coach was named on January 29, Lonnie Galloway, the receivers coach from Appalachian State
Appalachian State Mountaineers football
The Appalachian State Mountaineers football team is the college football team at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. The Mountaineers have competed in the Southern Conference since 1972, and are currently a Division I Football Championship Subdivision member of the National...
.
Spring Game
The Gold & Blue Spring Game was held on Saturday, April 19, 2008, at Mountaineer Field. A record crowd of over 25,000 fans attended as the Gold defeated the Blue 59–15. Kicker Pat McAfeePat McAfee
Patrick "Pat" McAfee is an American football punter for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was a placekicker, punter, and soccer player at West Virginia.-Freshman season:...
was four-for-four on field goals with a long of 47 yards, and starting quarterback Pat White and backup Jarrett Brown
Jarrett Brown
Jarrett Brown is an American football quarterback who is currently with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He played college football at West Virginia, and was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent following the 2010 NFL Draft...
both had touchdown passes. Brown also had a four-yard touchdown run and two backup kickers hit a field goal each. The defense recorded six sacks in total, and walk-on linebacker Najee Good led all tacklers with 10 tackles. Sophomore linebacker Pat Lazear had the only interception on the game off of a White pass. Backup runningback led all ballcarriers with 54 yards on 17 carries while sophomore Brandon Hogan led all receivers with 49 yards on 6 catches.
Recruiting Class
Rankings
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP | 8 | 8 | 25 | 21 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 20 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 23 |
| Coaches | 8 | 8 | 24 | 22 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 23 | NR | NR | 25 | NR | NR | NR |
| Harris | not available | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 22 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | |||
| BCS | not available | NR | NR | NR | 25 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A | ||||||
Team
| class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;"> | Team | Opp | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoring | |||
| Points per Game | |||
| First Downs | |||
| Rushing | |||
| Passing | |||
| Penalty | |||
| Total Offense | |||
| Avg per Play | |||
| Avg per Game | |||
| Fumbles-Lost | |||
| Penalties-Yards | |||
| Avg per Game |
Scores by quarter
Rushing
| Name | GP-GS | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | Long | Avg/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noel Devine Noel Devine Noel Devine is an American football running back for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2011 and was released four days later after leaving the squad. He played college football at West Virginia.He had a... |
8–8 | 132 | 909 | 6.9 | 3 | 92 | 113.3 |
| Pat White | 7–7 | 102 | 545 | 5.3 | 44 | 4 | 77.9 |
| Jock Sanders | 8–8 | 30 | 168 | 5.6 | 19 | 2 | 21 |
| Jarrett Brown Jarrett Brown Jarrett Brown is an American football quarterback who is currently with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He played college football at West Virginia, and was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent following the 2010 NFL Draft... |
5–1 | 32 | 157 | 4.9 | 35 | 1 | 31.4 |
| Mark Rodgers | 5–0 | 12 | 69 | 5.8 | 19 | 0 | 13.8 |
| Total | |||||||
| Opponents |
Passing
| Name | GP-GS | Cmp-Att-Int | Pct | Yds | TD | Lng | Avg/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat White | 7–7 | 99–142–3 | 69.7 | 885 | 13 | 44 | 126.4 |
| Jarrett Brown | 5–1 | 22–30–1 | 73.3 | 114 | 1 | 25 | 22.8 |
| Total | |||||||
| Opponents |
Receiving
| Name | GP-GS | Rec. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | Avg/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jock Sanders | 8–8 | 35 | 263 | 7.5 | 6 | 25 | 32.9 |
| Alric Arnett | 8–8 | 19 | 226 | 11.9 | 3 | 44 | 28.3 |
| Dorrell Jalloh | 8–8 | 17 | 202 | 11.9 | 3 | 35 | 25.3 |
| Noel Devine | 8–8 | 22 | 96 | 4.4 | 0 | 17 | 12 |
| Wes Lyons | 4–0 | 9 | 90 | 10 | 0 | 19 | 22.5 |
| Will Johnson | 4–2 | 7 | 48 | 6.9 | 1 | 12 | 12 |
| Tito Gonzales | 3–0 | 4 | 35 | 8.8 | 0 | 11 | 11.6 |
| Tyler Urban | 2–0 | 1 | 25 | 25 | 2 | 25 | 12.5 |
| Bradley Starks | 3–0 | 4 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 6.6 |
| Total | |||||||
| Opponents |
Defense
| Name | GP | Tackles | Sacks | Pass Def. | Interceptions | Fumbles | Blkd Kick |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | Ast | Total | TFL-Yds | No-Yds | BU | No.-Yds | Avg | TD | Rcv-Yds | FF | No. | ||
| Mortty Ivy Mortty Ivy Mortty Ivy is an American football linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at West Virginia.... |
8 | 24 | 37 | 61 | 4.0 – 10 | .5 – 3 | 2 | 3–48 | 16 | 0 | 1–30 | 0 | 0 |
| Quinton Andrews Quinton Andrews Quinton Andrews is an American football redshirt senior safety for North Alabama. Andrews played the prior three years of his career at West Virginia.-Early life:... |
8 | 28 | 26 | 54 | 2.0 – 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sidney Glover | 8 | 23 | 22 | 45 | 4.5 – 18 | 1.0 – 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ellis Lankster Ellis Lankster Ellis Lankster is an American football cornerback for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft... |
8 | 27 | 17 | 44 | 1.5 – 11 | 0 | 4 | 1–31 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anthony Leonard | 8 | 12 | 31 | 43 | 1.5 – 4 | .5 – 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| J.T. Thomas | 8 | 12 | 25 | 37 | 3.5 – 24 | 1.5 – 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Chris Neild | 8 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 2.5 – 6 | 1.5 – 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Brandon Hogan | 8 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2–50 | 25 | 0 | 2–0 | 0 | 0 |
| Franchot "Boogie" Allen | 8 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 2.5 – 4 | 1.0 – 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eain Smith | 8 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Holmes | 8 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 3.5 – 25 | 3.0 – 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Robert Sands | 8 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Slavonic | 8 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 2.5 – 9 | 2.5 – 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1–0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ovid Goldbourne | 8 | 5 | 12 | 17 | .5 – 3 | .5 – 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reed Williams | 4 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 2.0 – 4 | 0 | 1 | 1–11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Lazear | 8 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 1.0 – 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kent Richardson | 8 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 1.0 – 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nate Sowers | 7 | 7 | 6 | 13 | .5 – 1 | 0 | 1 | 1–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Liebig | 5 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guesly Dervil | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zac Cooper | 8 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 1.0 – 8 | 1.0 – 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total |
Special teams
| Name | Kicking | Punting | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XPM | XPA | XP% | FGM | FGA | FG% | LG | No. | Yds | Avg. | TB | -20 | LG | |
| Pat McAfee Pat McAfee Patrick "Pat" McAfee is an American football punter for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was a placekicker, punter, and soccer player at West Virginia.-Freshman season:... |
25 | 25 | 100 | 9 | 10 | 90 | 52 | 37 | 1643 | 44.4 | 5 | 18 | 65 |
| Total |
| Name | Punt Returns | Kick Returns | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | |
| Ellis Lankster Ellis Lankster Ellis Lankster is an American football cornerback for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft... |
20 | 171 | 8.6 | 0 | 36 | 3 | 67 | 22.3 | 0 | 31 |
| Brandon Hogan | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 11 | 0 | |||||
| Mark Rodgers | 13 | 301 | 23.2 | 0 | 44 | |||||
| Jock Sanders | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 108 | 21.6 | 0 | 32 |
| Total |