2009 West Virginia Mountaineers football team
Encyclopedia
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 at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia
. The Mountaineers finished the season 9–4 (5–2 Big East
) and lost in the Gator Bowl
21–33 against Florida State
.
This was the second meeting between West Virginia and Auburn, with the Mountaineers winning the first game 34–17 during the 2008 season.
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.
. The 2009 Backyard Brawl
, broadcast by ESPN2
, was the most watched college football game in the history of ESPN2
.
Gator Bowl
marked the final game for legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden
, who also spent six seasons as head coach at West Virginia.
class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;">
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
Through 12 games>
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;...
in the college football season of 2009
2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on September 2, 2009, progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in Pasadena, California on January 7, 2010, featuring the...
. The Mountaineers were led by head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
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...
and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...
. The Mountaineers finished the season 9–4 (5–2 Big East
2009 Big East Conference football season
The 2009 Big East football season was an NCAA football season that was played from September 5, 2009, to January 2, 2010. The Big East Conference consists of 8 football members: Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse, and West Virginia...
) and lost in the Gator Bowl
2010 Gator Bowl
The 2010 Gator Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Florida State University Seminoles from the ACC, and the West Virginia University Mountaineers representing the Big East, and was played on Friday, January 1, 2010, at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville,...
21–33 against Florida State
2009 Florida State Seminoles football team
The 2009 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University during the 2009 college football season. The Seminoles were led by 34th year head coach Bobby Bowden...
.
Season
Liberty
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
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
All-time record: Tied 1-1This was the second meeting between West Virginia and Auburn, with the Mountaineers winning the first game 34–17 during the 2008 season.
Colorado
All-time record: Tied 1–1This 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
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...
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
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...
to Jock Sanders
Jock Sanders
Jock Sanders is a gridiron football slotback and running back for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at West Virginia....
. 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
Ryan Clarke
Ryan James Clarke is an English footballer who plays for Oxford United as a goalkeeper. He previously trained with the England under-18 squad in La Manga.-Bristol Rovers:...
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
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...
had a career high 220 yards rushing with an average of 10 yards per carry.
Syracuse
WVU jumped out to a 27–0 halftime lead on route to beating the Orange for an 8th straight time. Jarrett Brown completed 22–30 passing for 244 yards and a TD pass to Noel Devine, who also had 97 yards on the ground with a TD.Marshall
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 TD, Noel Devine added 103 yards on the ground scoring 2 TDsConnecticut
South Florida
Louisville
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
West Virginia's Tyler Bitancurt kicked a 43 yard field goal as time expired to give WVU a win in the 102nd Backyard BrawlBackyard Brawl
The Backyard Brawl is an annual football game between the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the West Virginia University Mountaineers. The term "Backyard Brawl" has also been used to refer to college basketball games played annually or semi-iannually and may also be used to refer to other...
. The 2009 Backyard Brawl
Backyard Brawl
The Backyard Brawl is an annual football game between the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the West Virginia University Mountaineers. The term "Backyard Brawl" has also been used to refer to college basketball games played annually or semi-iannually and may also be used to refer to other...
, broadcast by ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
, was the most watched college football game in the history of ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
.
Rutgers
Florida State
2010 Konica MinoltaKonica Minolta
is a Japanese manufacturer of office equipment, medical imaging, graphic imaging, optical devices, and measuring instruments. It is headquartered in the Marunouchi Center Building in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, with a Kansai office in Nishi-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture...
Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
marked the final game for legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden
Bobby Bowden
Robert Cleckler "Bobby" Bowden is a retired college football coach. He coached the Florida State Seminoles football team from the 1976 to 2009 seasons...
, who also spent six seasons as head coach at West Virginia.
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 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 22 | 20 | – | – | – | – | 24 | 18 | 25 |
| Coaches | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 22 | 20 | – | 23 | – | – | 23 | 17 | 22 |
| Harris | Not released | – | – | 23 | 20 | – | 24 | – | – | 25 | 18 | |||||
| BCS | Not released | 23 | 21 | – | 25 | – | – | 23 | 16 | |||||||
WVU Team Statistics Through 6 Games (10/18/09)
| class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;"> | WVU | OPP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SCORING | 191 | 125 | |
| Points per Game | 31.8 | 20.8 | |
| FIRST DOWNS | 121 | 95 | |
| Rushing | 55 | 29 | |
| Passing | 60 | 57 | |
| Penalty | 6 | 9 | |
| 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 | 4 | |
| 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 | 9 | 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 |
Scores by quarter
Rushing
| Name | GP | Att | Net | Avg | TD | Long | Avg/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noel Devine | 6 | 114 | 734 | 6.4 | 9 | 77 | 122.3 |
| Jarrett Brown | 6 | 50 | 209 | 4.2 | 1 | 26 | 34.8 |
| Jock Sanders | 6 | 11 | 62 | 5.9 | 1 | 12 | 10.8 |
| Ryan Clarke | 5 | 19 | 61 | 3.2 | 5 | 4 | 12.2 |
| Shawne Alston | 5 | 6 | 18 | 3.0 | 0 | 8 | 3.6 |
| Geno Smith | 3 | 7 | 15 | 2.1 | 0 | 13 | 5.0 |
| Tavon Austin | 6 | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 | 1.3 |
| Coley White | 1 | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 0 | 13 | 7.0 |
| Mark Rodgers | 6 | 4 | 5 | 1.2 | 0 | 4 | 0.8 |
| Brad Starks | 5 | 2 | −3 | −1.5 | 0 | 2 | −0.5 |
| TEAM | 5 | 5 | −11 | −2.2 | 0 | 0 | −2.2 |
| Total | 6 | 223 | 1,108 | 5.0 | 16 | 77 | 184.7 |
| Opponents | 6 | 182 | 481 | 2.6 | 4 | 36 | 80.2 |
Passing
| Name | GP | Att-Comp | Pct | Yds | TD | INT | Lng | Avg/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jarrett Brown | 6 | 96–140 | 68.6 | 1,209 | 8 | 5 | 58 | 201.5 |
| Geno Smith | 3 | 23–33 | 69.7 | 211 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 70.0 |
| Brad Starks | 6 | 1–1 | 100 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 5.2 |
| Total | 6 | 120–174 | 69.0 | 1,451 | 9 | 6 | 58 | 241.0 |
| Opponents | 6 | 111–220 | 50.5 | 1,279 | 10 | 9 | 82 | 212.7 |
Receiving
| Name | GP | No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | Avg/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jock Sanders | 5 | 41 | 394 | 9.6 | 2 | 38 | 78.8 |
| Brad Starks | 5 | 14 | 296 | 21.1 | 1 | 58 | 59.2 |
| Alric Arnett | 5 | 14 | 194 | 13.9 | 2 | 46 | 38.8 |
| Noel Devine | 5 | 11 | 72 | 6.5 | 1 | 17 | 14.4 |
| Tavon Austin | 5 | 8 | 103 | 12.9 | 1 | 58 | 20.6 |
| Wes Lyons | 5 | 6 | 76 | 12.7 | 0 | 16 | 15.2 |
| Tyler Urban | 5 | 4 | 72 | 18.0 | 0 | 33 | 14.4 |
| Will Johnson | 5 | 4 | 63 | 15.8 | 1 | 33 | 12.6 |
| Ryan Clark | 5 | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 | 9 | 3.0 |
| Total | 5 | 104 | 1,285 | 12.4 | 8 | 58 | 257.0 |
| Opponents | 5 | 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 |
See also
- 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season2009 NCAA Division I FBS football seasonThe 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on September 2, 2009, progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in Pasadena, California on January 7, 2010, featuring the...