2010 West Virginia Mountaineers football team
Encyclopedia
The 2010 West Virginia Mountaineer football team represented West Virginia University
in the college football season of 2010
. The Mountaineers were led by head coach
Bill Stewart
and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia
. They were members of the Big East Conference
. They finished the season 9–4, 5–2 in Big East play to share the conference title with Connecticut
and Pittsburgh
(UConn earned the conference's BCS
berth via a tiebreaker). They were invited to the Champ Sports Bowl
where they were defeated by North Carolina State
7–23.
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 2010
2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on Thursday, September 2, 2010. The season progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game on Monday, January 10, 2011.-Rule changes for...
. 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...
. They were members of the Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
. They finished the season 9–4, 5–2 in Big East play to share the conference title with Connecticut
2010 Connecticut Huskies football team
The 2010 Connecticut Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Big East Conference. The team was coached by Randy Edsall and played its home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut...
and Pittsburgh
2010 Pittsburgh Panthers football team
-Rankings:The Panthers debuted at #15 in the preseason Coaches' Poll. and in the preseason Associated Press Poll.Sports Illustrated ranked Pitt #16 in the annual College Football Preview issue on August 16, 2010....
(UConn earned the conference's BCS
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
berth via a tiebreaker). They were invited to the Champ Sports Bowl
2010 Champs Sports Bowl
The 2010 Champs Sports Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 28, 2010. The game matched up the NC State Wolfpack from the Atlantic Coast Conference versus the West Virginia Mountaineers from the Big East Conference. The game was scheduled for a 6:30 p.m...
where they were defeated by North Carolina State
2010 NC State Wolfpack football team
The 2010 NC State Wolfpack Football Team represented North Carolina State University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wolfpack, led by head coach Tom O'Brien, played their home games at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina and were members of the Atlantic division...
7–23.
Schedule
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 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 22 | RV | RV | 25 | 20 | RV | - | – | – | RV | 23 | 22 | RV |
| Coaches | 24 | 22 | 21 | 21 | RV | RV | 25 | 19 | RV | – | - | – | RV | 24 | 22 | RV |
| Harris | Not released | 25 | 19 | RV | – | - | – | RV | 23 | 21 | ||||||
| BCS marshell | Not released | 20 | - | – | - | – | – | 24 | 22 | |||||||
Coastal Carolina
Marshall
Facing a 21-6 fourth-quarter deficit, West Virginia outscored Marshall 15-0 on drives of 96 and 98 yards in the final 8:28 of the game. In overtime WVU took the lead with a field goal and won 24-21 when Marshall's kicker Tyler Warner missed a 39-yard field goal attempt. The comeback win was significant because the loss would have marked Marshall's first ever win in the series.Maryland
LSU
UNLV
South Florida
Syracuse
WVU lost their homecoming game to Syracuse after winning eight straight in the series. The loss, which saw Geno Smith throw three interceptions (after throwing only two all season), broke the Mountaineers' 12-game home winning streak and dropped the team out of the BCS standings. Coming into the game, West Virginia was the only ranked team in the Big East.Connecticut
West Virginia lost to Connecticut for the first time in history after WVU's Ryan Clarke fumbled at the UConn one yard line and Connecticut's Dave Teggart kicked the game-winning, 27-yard field goal in overtime. After the loss, the WVU coaching staff received criticism from fans and the media over the team's offensive struggles in two consecutive Big East conference games against Syracuse and the Huskies.Cincinnati
After losing two consecutive conference games, the Mountaineers needed to win against the Bearcats to stay in the Big East race. The Mountaineers snapped a two-game losing skid against Cincinnati by getting off to a quick start behind Geno Smith's four first-half touchdown passes.Louisville
The Mountaineers stayed in contention for the Big East title by winning 17-10 on the road in a contest highlighted by defensive performances. The West Virginia defense, at the time ranked 4th in the country and first in the Big East Conference, held the Big East's best rushing team (averaging 192 yards per game) to a total of 26 yards on the ground. The defense allowed only 3 offensive points—the other 7 coming off a Louisville fumble recovery in the end zone—and held the Cardinals to 2 of 13 on 3rd down conversions. However, the WVU offense failed to score a second-half touchdown for the fourth time in its five conference games. The Mountaineers also remained scoreless in the fourth quarter in Big East play.Pittsburgh
In the 103rd edition of the Backyard Brawl, the Mountaineers remained in contention for the Big East's BCS Bowl bid by winning 35-10 at Heinz Field. Pittsburgh controlled its own destiny, and needed to win its last two games to claim the Big East title and BCS bowl birth outright, but the West Virginia defense forced 4 turnovers off of 6 Panther fumbles and an interception to defeat Pitt for the second year in a row. The West Virginia offense, plagued by poor performances in the second half of its previous Big East games, showed improvement by totaling 21 points in the second half and breaking its scoreless streak in the fourth quarter of conference games. The momentum heavily favored the Mountaineers after Geno Smith threw a 71 yard touchdown pass to Tavon Austin to make the score 21-7 in the third quarter. Following the win, the Mountaineers appeared in the top 25 rankings, listed 24 in the BCS and 23 in the AP, for the first time since their home loss to Syracuse over a month earlier.Rutgers
Geno Smith threw for a career-high 352 yards, Ryan Clarke had three short touchdown runs, and No. 23 West Virginia overcame turnover problems to beat the Scarlet Knights 35-14 to clinch a share of the Big East title. It marked the fifth shared or outright Big East title for the Mountaineers since 2003. Smith finished the season with 2,567 passing yards and 22 TDs. Both are the second most in school history behind Marc Bulger's 3,607 yards and 31 TDs in 1998. WVU extended its winning streak over Rutgers to 15, and have never lost to the Scarlet Knights in Morgantown. After defeating Rutgers in the regular season finale, WVU needed a UCONN loss to obtain berth in a BCS bowl. The Huskies defeated South Florida later that evening, and despite winning a share of the Big East title, the Mountaineers lost the head-to-head tiebreaker with Connecticut who received the conference's BCS bowl bid.See also
- 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season2010 NCAA Division I FBS football seasonThe 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on Thursday, September 2, 2010. The season progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game on Monday, January 10, 2011.-Rule changes for...