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History

Although it has never won a national championship, the program has garnered a 663-442-45 record. Beginning in 1937-1938, West Virginia was classified as a College Division. From 1939-1972, West Virginia was in the University Division. From '73-'77, WVU was Division I, then from '78-present WVU has been Division I-A.

WVU played mainly as an Independent from 1891 to 1990, with intermittent stints in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1925-1927), and the Southern Conference (1950-1967). Since 1991, after reclassifications as a Division 1 Independent (1973-1977) and a Division 1-A Independent (1978-1990), the team competes in the Big East Conference. WVU had no team in 1892 and 1918. WVU is the winningest college football program that has never won a National Championship, ahead of Miami University and the University of Arkansas.

West Virginia has only had undefeated regular seasons in 1988 when it went to the National Championship in the Fiesta Bowl to face University of Notre Dame and in 1993 when they went to the Sugar Bowl to face University of Florida. However, West Virginia lost both bowl games, 34-21 to Notre Dame, and 41-7 to Florida. Both undefeated regular seasons were under their coach Don Nehlen.

WVU has been Conference champions thirteen times (8 in the Southern Conference, five in the Big East Conference). West Virginia's highest-ever poll ranking is #1 (in the Coaches Poll following Week 13 of the 2007 season). WVU has participated in 25 bowl games; their record stands at 11-15. Major bowls include the Sugar Bowl (3 times), Peach Bowl (4 times), Fiesta Bowl (1 time), and the Gator Bowl (6 times).

The 2005 season and the 2006 season produced the first consecutive 11-win seasons in school history. In the 2007 season, the Mountaineers started the season as the #3-ranked team, the highest preseason ranking in school history.

West Virginia unveiled a new, gold uniform design for the 2007 season. The uniform has a gold top (instead of blue) with blue stripes (instead of gold). The tops have only been featured with a white bottom (which features a gold stripe). The uniform is currently being featured as the alternative home uniform. Running back Steve Slaton sported the uniform when he attended the 2007 Playboy All-American honoring at the Playboy Mansion at the beginning of the pre-season.

1988 season

The 1987 season was the beginning of Major Harris as the starting quarterback for West Virginia. Only a redshirt-freshman, Harris led the Mountaineers to a Sun Bowl berth, after a 1-3 start.

The '88 season opened with coach Don Nehlen's alma mater, Bowling Green University. The win marked the beginning of the run, winning 62-14. West Virginia beat their next opponent, Cal-State Fullerton, 45-10. West Virginia's first challenge was against the University of Maryland. West Virginia got behind the Terps 14-0, but pulled away at halftime, winning 55-24.

West Virginia's next game was at the University of Pittsburgh. The game was a defensive struggle, until runningback A.B. Brown, a Pitt transfer, ran a draw for 64-yards and the score. Scoring 14-points in the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers broke away and won 31-10. West Virginia then traveled to rival Virginia Tech, and won 22-10, even though they produced four fumbles in the game. The next two games, a win at East Carolina University, and a 59-point win at Boston College, gave West Virginia a 7-0 record.

Next, the late October matchup vs Penn State at Mountaineer Field is widely regarded as one of the greatest games in Mountaineer football history. Before a nationwide CBS audience, the Mountaineers were up 34-8 before the half. On a draw play, runningback Undra Johnson ran 55 yards for the touchdown to end the half. The game also included a touchdown run by Major Harris, which is forever remembered in West Virginia lore as "The Run".

The next game was at the University of Cincinnati, where the Mountaineers started slow in the first half. Receiver Reggie Rembert scored three times, and the Mountaineers won by scoring 24 points in the third quarter. The Mountaineers traveled to Giants Stadium to play Rutgers, who had beat Penn St., Boston College, and Michigan State. The Mountaineers played poor, but came out with the win.

The final regular season game of the season was at home, against the University of Syracuse. The Orangemen were 8-2, while the Mountaineers were 10-0. The highlight of the game was a 49-yard interception by Willie Edwards that was taken for a touchdown. The Mountaineers won 31-9, and took a famous lap around the stadium to entertain the 65,000 fans in Morgantown.

Fiesta Bowl

West Virginia traveled to the Fiesta Bowl to play the only other undefeated team in the NCAA, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Free safety Darrell Whitmore was out for the Mountaineers, but Nehlen moved star Bo Orlando from strong safety to free to fill the hole. Nehlen recalled the move as "our first mistake...". "Another mistake I made is that I let the media overrun us."

West Virginia's offense was doomed from the third play of the game. Major Harris separated his shoulder on the third play when he was slammed to the ground by Irish Linebacker Michael Stonebreaker. He couldn't throw well for the rest of the game. Linemen John Stroia and Bob Kovach were injured for the Mountaineers in that game as well. Notre Dame completely dominated the game. West Virginia only made one serious threat. Willie Edwards picked off a Tony Rice pass in the 3rd quarter. ND led by 13 points at the time. A Harris incompletion and two ND sacks took WVU out of field goal range, and the threat was over. ND opened up a 27 point lead before two late WVU touchdowns made the score respectable. WVU lost 34-21, it was their first loss of the season for the national championship.

West Virginia's only domination of the day occurred in the Battle of the Marching Bands at halftime, where the Mountaineers marching band clearly dominated the Notre Dame band.

Team

West Virginia's '88 team was highlighted with an explosive offense, led by Major Harris. Harris, only a sophomore, threw an exceptional deep ball in addition to his remarkable scrambling ability. Runningbacks A.B. Brown, Undra Johnson, Eugene Napoleon, and Criag Taylor at fullback highlighted the run game. The runners were led by Rick Phillips and Brian Smider on the offensive line, along with Stroia and Kovach, while Kevin Koken led the line at center. Early in the season, Keith Winn was moved from receiver to tight end, providing help to the run game, but was more famous as a deep-pass threat. The receivers catching the balls from Harris were led by Reggie Rembert, who was accompanied by Calvin Phillips and Grantis Bell.

Coach Don Nehlen credited West Virginia's '88 team's defense as being the main factor to their success. The linebacking core included Renaldo Turnbull, Dale Jackson, Theron Ellis, and Bobby Pickett. Mike Fox and Chris Parker headed the defensive line, along with Chris Haering. The secondary was one of the best in West Virginia history, led by Bo Orlando and Darrell Whitmore. Orlando had a good pro career with the Houston Oilers and Pittsburgh Steelers, while Darrell went pro in baseball. Willie Edwards played corner along with Alvoid Mays, who went pro as well, and Lawrence Drumgoole played solid backup corner.

1993 season

The 1993 season began with an uncertainty at quarterback. Both Darren Studstill and Jake Kelchner were up for the spot, but coach Don Nehlen decided to have a rotation each game while playing freshman Chad Johnston a few games. Star runningback Adrian Murrell was replaced that season by Robert Walker and All-American center Mike Compton was replaced by Dale Williams. Guard Rich Braham provided help to Walker in the run game. Young Aaron Beasley and Mike Logan led the secondary.

The first game against Eastern Michigan University was an easy win. The next was against the University of Maryland. Kelchner passed for 270 yards and Harold Kidd grabbed a big interception to seal the win, 42-37. The next week, the Mountaineers blew by the University of Missouri 35-3 in Morgantown. In that game, Mike Collins returned a fumble 97 yards for a score and Vann Washington had an interception taken 27-yards for another score.

The next week was a close win against Virginia Tech, 14-13. The Mountaineers won, even though turning the ball over five times, when the Tech kicker missed a 44-yard field goal. The next game was against the University of Louisville, one of the toughest games of the season. Led by Brian Brohm's older brother, Jeff Brohm, the Cardinals were undefeated like the Mountaineers. But Robert Walker score three times, and led the Mountaineers to a close 36-34 win. The win led the Mountaineers into the Top 15 in the country. The next game, against the University of Pittsburgh, had a close first quarter. But Robert Walker rushed for over 150 yards and Mike Baker caught a couple of touchdown passes to pull away and win, 42-21.

The next game was a revengeful game. In 1992, West Virginia played the University of Syracuse, when a massive fight occurred. In a controversial decision, three Mountaineers were ejected, while only one Orangeman was ejected. That led to the Syracuse win. In the '93 version of the game, after missing two field goals, the Mountaineers were up 7-0 at halftime. But in the second half, the Mountaineer exploded. After a 90-yard run by Robert Walker, the Mountaineers won 43-0.

After beating Rutgers and Temple University, the Mountaineers were 9-0. In one of the biggest games in Mountaineer history, the #4 University of Miami came to Morgantown. The game was close, but Robert Walker won the game when he took a run to the sideline in the fourth quarter. Up 17-14, with four minutes left, Jake Kelchner threw a 40-yard bomb to seal the game.

After the game, Jake Kelchner injured his arm and Vann Washington had leg problems. The next game was against Boston College, where the Mountaineers were almost taken by surprise. Down 11 points with 13 minutes left, Don Nehlen told defensive coordinator Steve Dunlap to put in Charles Emanuel and Mike Logan. The next play, Mike Logan hit the fullback, resulting in a fumble which was recovered by the Mountaineers. Darren Studstill drove 63-yards downfield, and hit Eddie Hill for one of the greatest scores in West Virginia history. West Virginia finished the season 11-0, their second undefeated season.

Sugar Bowl

West Virginia was scheduled to play the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl. The Mountaineers first drive went 80-yards and scored on a pass, then stopped the Gators on their first drive. The next Gator-drive almost went three-and-out, until a personal foul on Steve Perkins gave Florida the momentum. Jake Kelchner was playing a good game, but then Don Nehlen surprised many by putting Studstill in. On the Mountaineers first drive, Studstill threw an interception. Florida ran off with the game after that, winning 41-7.

Coach Don Nehlen said of the game, "We had wanted to play Nebraska in the Orange Bowl as the only two undefeated teams, but the bowl coalition didn't like the match. Instead, we were slotted to play Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. Instead, the Sugar Bowl paid more money so the conference and administration wanted us to play Florida."

2005 season

The 2005 season followed a disappointing 2004 campaign, where the Mountaineers were led to an 8-4 record with Rasheed Marshall, Kay-Jay Harris, Pacman Jones, and Chris Henry, after having National Championship expectations. The '05 season was meant to be a rebuilding season. With Marshall and Harris leaving, the quarterback and halfback positions were open. Adam Bednarik and redshirt-freshman Patrick White were competing for the spot, while Coach Rich Rodriguez was thinking of re-using the '93 quarterback rotation. The halfback spot seemed to be filled by junior Jason Colson, but true freshman Steve Slaton broke out and took the job. Junior Dan Mozes led the offensive line at center. Mike Lorello and Jahmile Addae headed the secondary, while junior Kevin "Boo" McLee led the linebacking core.

The Mountaineers first game was a 15-7 win at Syracuse. Bednarik finished the game with 104 pass yards, while White barely broke the stat sheet. The Mountaineers lacked in the rushing game though, only having 170 yards. Next, the Mountaineers hosted Division I-AA (now known as Division I FCS) Wofford, which was an easy 35-7 win. Former star of the undefeated '88 team, Darrell Whitmore, came to see Adam Bednarik throw his first career touchdown pass to receiver Darius Reynaud, who had 57 yards and his first career touchdown catch. Pat White led the team in rushing with 107 yards, making his first touchdown run off of a 48-yard dash.

The Mountaineers then traveled to Maryland and won 31-19. Adam Bednarik was injured in the third quarter, and Pat White took over. White scored 24 points in the last quarter, which began his career of starts. Fullback Owen Schmitt led the rushers with 80 yards, while freshman Jason Gwaltney had 44 yards. Then the Mountaineers hosted East Carolina in a close 20-15 victory. Defensive back Antonio Lewis took a punt 76-yards for a score, while Adam Bednarik led passers with 116 yards and a score and Pat White had a touchdown pass as well.

West Virginia's only loss came to a Virginia Tech team, led by Marcus Vick, who were determined to win the finale of the Black Diamond Trophy rivalry. Although the Mountaineers lost 34-17, the game marked the beginning of the tandem of Pat White and Steve Slaton. Slaton made his first appearance, leading the team with 90 yards on just 11 rushes. White had 85 yards and two touchdown through the air. Vick won the game for the Hokies though, with 177 yards threw the air, and 77 yards on the ground, and totaled 3 touchdowns.

Freshman Steve Slaton made his first ever start the next week against Rutgers, rushing for 139 yards and a touchdown to win 27-14. Pat White saw little playing time, while Bednarik totaled 78 yards and a score.

The next game was one of the greatest in West Virginia history. Mountaineer Field hosted Louisville, led by Brian Brohm and Michael Bush. West Virignia went into the half losing 17-0. The Mountaineers overcame a 17-point deficit, led by Steve Slaton and Pat White, to send the game into overtime. Kicker Pat McAfee made the greatest kick in Mountaineer history, an onside kick that the Mountaineers recovered that led to the game-tying score. West Virginia took it into three overtimes, when Louisville put up the score in the third to make it 46-44. Brian Brohm dropped back on the 2-point conversion, looking for a receiver. He then tried to scramble up the middle, when safety Eric Wicks hit him short of the endzone to win the game. Steve Slaton ran for 188 yards and a Big East record six touchdowns, while Pat White totaled 118 all-purpose yards. Michael Bush scored 4 times for Louisville, but the Mountaineers came out victorious.

Pat White made his first start the next week against UConn, winning 45-13. Steve Slaton totaled 71 yards and a score, while White racked up 106 pass yards and a score and 63 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Then the Mountaineers traveled to the University of Cincinnati and won 38-0. Slaton rushed for 129 yards and four touchdowns, while White rushed for 111 yards and passed for 100 yards and a score.

Then Pat White broke loose against Pitt in the annual Backyard Brawl. White rushed for a record 220 yards and two scores, while Slaton rushed for 179 yards and two scores. Jahmile Addae also had a key interception of Tyler Palko and took it 40 yards for a score. Then West Virginia capped off the regular season in a win at South Florida. Pat White rushed for 177 yards and two scores and Steve Slaton rushed for 112 yards and a score. Addae made another key interception, marking his last regular season game as a Mountaineer.

Sugar Bowl

The Mountaineers were the underdog in the matchup against the #8 Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl, which was relocated to Atlanta, Georgia after Hurricane Katrina. The Mountaineers turned heads when they scored four unanswered touchdowns against the Bulldog defense. The Mountaineers went into halftime, leading 31-21. The 52-points in the first half set a BCS record. The Mountaineers scored again on a Slaton run, giving the Mountaineers a 38-28 advantage. The Bulldogs scored again on a 43 yard pass from D.J. Shockley. Then, in one of the greatest plays in West Virginia history, the game was sealed. Punter Phil Brady lined up in Georgia territory, ready to punt to the Bulldogs with less than two minutes left. He took the snap, and then burst on a run. He ran for the first down, and then slid down in front of two Bulldogs. The run sealed the game as the Bulldogs had no time outs left.

Steve Slaton's 204 yards broke Tony Dorsett's Sugar Bowl record. Jahmile Addae capped of an impressive career by causing a fumble that led to a Mountaineer score. Mike Lorello also caused a fumble to cap his career. Pat White threw for 120 yards a, as well as rushing for 77 yards. Georgia QB D.J. Shockley tallied 277 yards and three scores too.

The win marked the biggest bowl win in Mountaineer history.

Team

The team was led by senior defensive backs Addae and Lorello on the defensive side of the ball, and junior center Mozes on the offensive side. The season marked the beginning of the Steve Slaton and Pat White duo, and marked an impressive season for fullback Owen Schmitt.

Steve Slaton totaled 1,128 yards and 17 touchdowns in the late games he played in. Slaton was named First-team All-freshman team, Big East rookie of the year, ECAC rookie of the year, second-team All-Big East, and Nokia Sugar Bowl MVP. Slaton was also a finalist for the Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award. Slaton's 1,128 yards is third for a freshman in West Virginia history also.

Pat White only had 828 yards passing and eight scores, but he totaled 952 yards rushing with 7 scores.

Current Coaches

Bill Stewart Head Coach (Interim)

Bill Stewart: Assistant Head Coach, Quarterbacks, Special Teams

Calvin Magee: Assistant Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator, Running backs

Jeff Casteel: Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers

Vacant: Defensive back/Recruiting Coordinator

Bill Kirelawich: Defensive line

Greg Frey: Offensive Line

Rod Smith: Quarterback

Bruce Tall: Safeties

Tony Dews: Wide Receivers

Rivalries

Current

• West Virginia vs Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl
• West Virginia vs Syracuse (play for the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy)
• West Virginia vs Maryland
• West Virginia vs Marshall in The Friends of Coal Bowl for the Governor's Trophy (a new rivalry)
• West Virginia vs Louisville

Former

• West Virginia vs Virginia Tech in the Battle for the Black Diamond Trophy (ended run in 2005 season)
• West Virginia vs Penn State (a bitter rivalry last played in 1992. Penn State would later join the Big Ten in 1994.)

2006 season results

2007 schedule

For current information on this topic, see 2007 West Virginia Mountaineers football team. (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Current NFL players

• Anthony Becht
• Marc Bulger
• Barrett Green
• Kay-Jay Harris
• Chris Henry
• Adam "Pacman" Jones (suspended)
• Antwan Lake
• Mike Lorello
• Rasheed Marshall
• Alton McCann
• Corey McIntyre
• Kevin "Boo" McLee
• Dan Mozes
• Jerry Porter
• Jeremy Sheffey
• Todd Sauerbrun
• Gary Stills
• John Thornton
• Mike Vanderjagt
• Quincy Wilson

Former NFL Players

• Jahmile Addae (cut by Minnesota in 2006, Retired)
• Mike Compton
• James Davis (has not played since 2005)
• Jason Davis
• Jeff Hostetler (retired)
• Sam Huff (retired)
• James Jett (retired)
• Brian Jozwiak (retired)
• Mike Logan (retired)
• Dee McCann (cut by Minnesota in 2007)
• Tom Pridemore (retired)
• Darryl Talley (retired)
• Jay Taylor (played 5 games for Tampa Bay in 2004, currently in the Arena Football League)

Pro Football Hall of Famers

• Sam Huff
• Joe Stydahar

Notable games

• 1893, West Virginia 12, Mt. Pleasant 0: The second game in West Virginia history, the first win in history.
• 1973, West Virginia 20, Miami 14: Backup quarterback Ben Williams led the Mountaineers to the upset at Miami, ending with a 32-yard bomb to win the game for the Mountaineers.
• 1975, Peach Bowl, West Virginia 13, NC State 10: Bobby Bowden was coaching West Virginia when Lou Holtz was coaching NC State. The game was won by West Virginia when Scott MacDonald, a tight end, caught a 50 yard pass. Bill Cowher, later famous for coaching the Pittsburgh Steelers, was playing linebacker for NC State.
• 1980, West Virginia 41, University of Cincinnati 27: Mountaineer Field hosts its first game. Also, the Flying WV logo makes its debut while John Denver makes a live appearance to lead Mountaineer Nation in the singing of Country Roads.
• 1982, West Virginia 41, No. 9 Oklahoma 27: West Virginia opened their season off upsetting Oklahoma as an underdog. Jeff Hostetler helped win the game with his passing game. After the game, West Virginia players were escorted by police onto the bus, out of Norman, Oklahoma.
• 1982, West Virginia 19, Maryland 18: A week after the win at Oklahoma, kicker Paul Woodside kicks four field goals, while Maryland fails the game-winning two-point conversion due to a Darryl Talley blitz.
• 1983, West Virginia 24, Pittsburgh 21: With Jeff Hostetler passing for a touchdown with 6:27 left in the game and then run around the right side for a six-yard score, West Virginia lifted themselves over Pittsburgh and into the Number 7 spot in the polls. This was West Virginia's first victory over Pittsburgh in seven years.
• 1984, West Virginia 21, No. 4 Boston College 20: West Virginia entered the half trailing 20-6. Their second half ended with 15 points to come from behind to upset Boston College. This would be the fourth straight time that Boston College Heisman winner Doug Flutie had failed to defeat West Virginia.
• 1984, West Virginia 17, No. 19 Penn State 14: Only a week after upsetting Boston College, West Virginia upset then ranked 19, Penn State. West Virginia runningback Pat Randolph scored in what Jack Fleming called, “The most important 22 yards a Mountaineer running back has ever gained!” That would be the first time West Virginia had beat Penn State since 1955 and it lifted West Virginia to 12 in the polls.
• 1985, West Virginia 27, Rutgers 0: The 500th win in West Virginia football history.
• 1988, West Virginia 51, Penn State 30: West Virginia, ranked 7 at the time, scored 41 points in the first half to roll over the Nittany Lions. It was the most first half points ever allowed by a Joe Paterno coached team and the most ever had scored in its history. West Virginia's win was also credited widely to Major Harris, who had a touchdown run which is forever known in West Virginia history as "the Play".
• 1993, West Virginia 17, No. 4 Miami 14: With a school record 70, 222 fans attenting to watch West Virginia, the Mountaineers came from behind to defeat Miami. Robert Walker of West Virginia scored the game winning touchdown in the 4th quarter to help Number 9 West Virginia advance in the polls.
• 1993, West Virginia 17, No. 11 Boston College 14: Edd Hill, a receiver of West Virginia, scored the game winning touchdown with a leaping catch in the endzone in the final seconds for No. 5 West Virginia to win their final regular season game. West Virginia advanced to the Sugar Bowl, only to lose to No. 8 Florida.
• 1998, West Virginia 35, No. 15 Syracuse 28: Marc Bulger of West Virginia passed a touchdown to receiver David Saunders to score the winning touchdown. Donovan McNabb, quarterback of the Orangemen, couldn't take the ball downfield and West Virginia pulled out a win.
• 1993, West Virginia 35, University of Missouri 3: Mike collins led West Virginia's blowout of the Missouri team by ripping the ball from the Mizzou back and taking it 97-yards for the score.
• 1994, West Virginia 21, No. 17 Boston College 20: WVU linebacker Matt Taffoni on fourth and inches with 1:17 left in the game, to cap a huge comeback against the ranked Boston College team.
• 1995, West Virginia 31, Boston College 19: The 1000th game in West Virginia football history; at Chesnut Hill.
• 1997, West Virginia 30, No. 19 Virginia Tech 17: Amos Zereoue ran for 153 yards with the Big East title on the line, to upset to Number 19 Hokies and end the 3 game losing streak to VT.
• 1998, West Virginia 35, No. 15 Syracuse 28: Ending a two-game losing streak, the Mountaineers upset the Orangemen, who were led by Donovan McNabb, at Mountaineer Field. The Orangemen finished the season by winning the Big East title, with the loss to West Virginia their only conference loss.
• 2000 Music City Bowl, West Virginia 49, Ole Miss 38: West Virginia scored 25 first half points to upset favored Mississippi in coach Don Nehlen's last game coaching West Virginia. West Virginia's Brad Lewis, quarterback, scored a bowl-record 5 touchdown passes and their whole offense racked up 432 total yards on offense.
• 2002, West Virginia 37, East Carolina University 17: Avon Cobourne rushed for 260 yards to gain the all-time rushing record at West Virginia, while Quincy Wilson ran for 198 yards to beat ECU.
• 2002, West Virginia 21, No. 13 Virginia Tech 18: Quincy Wilson rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown and West Virginia held Virginia Tech on the goalline to win the game. It was West Virginia's first victory over a nationally ranked team on the road since defeating Boston College 17-14 in 1993, and the first win over a ranked team since defeating Syracuse 35-28 in 1998.
• 2003, West Virginia 28, No. 3 Virginia Tech 7: West Virginia's victory was the biggest in school history. No. 3 Virginia Tech was the highest ranked team West Virginia had beaten on the football field and was Rich Rodriguez' first win over a Top 10 team. Virginia Tech's only score was on a controversial fumble return Touchdown. (Some fans refer the final score to the game as 28-"7", or West Virginia 28 - Referees 7 - Virginia Tech 0)
• 2005 West Virginia 46, No. 19 Louisville 44: West Virginia was down 24-7 late in the fourth quarter, and nobody had picked them to win the game. Adam Bednarik, the then starting quarterback for the Mountaineers, injured his foot late in the fourth, and redshirt freshman Pat White took over on a fourth-and-ten. He, along with RB Steve Slaton, engineered 3 scoring drives for the Mountaineers in the last 7 minutes, tying the game 24-24. In a triple-overtime thriller, the Mountaineers prevent Louisville's two-point conversion try, and win it 46-44.
• 2006 Sugar Bowl, West Virginia 38, Georgia 35: In what is considered one of the biggest upsets in the history of BCS bowl games, West Virginia scored 21 points in the first quarter (and 28 points in the first 20 minutes) to jump ahead early. Steve Slaton, a true freshman running back, won the MVP award and broke Tony Dorsett's Sugar Bowl record of 204 rushing yards. The play of the game was when in the 4th quarter Rich Rodriguez called a fake punt which caught the Bulldogs punting unit off-guard to get the first down and run out the clock to win.
• 2006 #15 West Virginia 41, #13 Rutgers 39: After losing to Louisville and USF, West Virginia had a chance to finish 2nd in the Big East with a win at Louisville. After beating Louisville, but losing to Cincinnati, Rutgers needed to win this to win a portion of the Big East, and the tiebreaker, since they would have shared it with a Louisville team that they had already beaten. Louisville didn't lose, and Rutgers didn't win. Losing to West Virginia in three overtimes, on the 2-point conversion pass to Ray Rice, much in the same fashion that Louisville lost to WVU in the 2005 matchup. Backup quarterback Jarrett Brown filled in for an injured Pat White (football player), Brown totaled 244 pass yards and a score, and 73 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown. Steve Slaton rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
• 2007 Gator Bowl, West Virginia 38, Georgia Tech 35: It was the sixth time WVU had played in the Gator Bowl but just the first win. Owen Schmitt and Pat White stepped up as Slaton would sit out after only 3 carries. Schmitt ran 52 yards on WVU's first play of the game. He would score twice before halftime to cut the deficeit to 11. Georgia Tech took an 18 point lead with an early 2nd half TD 35-17. White stepped up and would throw for 2 TDs and run for another in a 9 minute span to give WVU a 38-35 lead and the win.

References

1. http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/10788/no-5-offense-expected-to-carry-load-for-wvu
2. http://www.broncosports.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?ATCLID=879132&SPSID=48553&SPID=4061&DB_OEM_ID=9900&PALBID=11377
3. http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u162/prestonco/454024.gif?t=1179372180

External links

• West Virginia Football Historical Data
• WVUStats.com
• WV Mountaineer Sports

• Articles needing cleanup from August 2007
• Cleanup tagged articles without a reason field from August 2007
• Misplaced Pages pages needing cleanup from August 2007
• West Virginia University
• West Virginia Mountaineers football