2009 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

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.

2009 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Gator Bowl, L 21–33 vs. Florida State
ConferenceBig East Conference
Ranking
BCSNo. 16
CoachesNo. 22
APNo. 25
2009 record9–4 (5–2 Big East)
Head coachBill Stewart
Offensive coordinatorJeff Mullen
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorJeff Casteel
Base defense3–3–5
Home stadiumMountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium
(Capacity: 60,000)
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

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 Syracuse
ESPN+W 34–1340,144[5]
October 173:30 p.m.Marshall*
ESPN+W 24–754,432[6]
October 24NoonConnecticutNo. 22
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, West Virginia
ESPNUW 28–2458,106[7]
October 308:00 p.m.at South FloridaNo. 20
ESPN2L 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. 23
ESPN2L 21–2435,105[10]
November 277:00 p.m.No. 9 Pittsburgh
ESPN2W 19–1656,123[11]
December 5Noonat RutgersNo. 23
ESPNW 24–2152,534[12]
January 11:00 p.m.vs. Florida State*No. 17
CBSL 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
Further information: Friends of Coal Bowl

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
See also: 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking Movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week.
PollPreWk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Final
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

Statistics

WVU Team Statistics Through 6 Games (10/18/09)
WVUOPP
SCORING191 125 
  Points per Game31.8 20.8 
FIRST DOWNS121 95 
  Rushing55 29 
  Passing60 57 
  Penalty6 9 
RUSHING YARDAGE1,108 481 
  Rushing Yards Gained1,279 661 
  Rushing Yards Lost171 180 
  Rushing Attempts223 182 
  Average Per Rush5.0 2.6 
  Average Per Game184.7 80.2 
  Rushing TDs16 4 
PASSING YARDAGE1,451 1,276 
  Comp-Att-Int120–174–6 111–220–9 
  Average Per Pass8.3 5.8 
  Average Per Catch12.1 11.5 
  Average Per Game241.1 212.7 
  Passing TDs9 10 
TOTAL OFFENSE2,559 1,757 
  Total Plays397 402 
  Avg per Play6.4 4.4 
  Avg per Game426.5 292.8 
WVUOPP
KICK RETURNS: #-Yards-TD24–518–0 34–736–0 
KICK RETURN AVERAGE21.6 21.6 
PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards-TD13–160–0 11–111–0 
PUNT RETURN AVERAGE12.3 10.1 
FUMBLES-LOST16–11 8–3 
PENALTIES-Yards36–337 37–305  −0   Avg per Game56.2 50.8 
PUNTS-Yards23–1,065 34–1,410 
  Avg Per Punt46.3 41.5 
  Net Punt Average38.9 35.0 
TIME OF POSSESSION/Game31:32 28:28 
3RD DOWN CONVERSIONS35/76 32/95 
  3rd Down Pct46% 34% 
4TH DOWN CONVERSIONS1/4 4/9 
  4th Down Pct25% 44% 
SACKS BY-Yards14–88 9–89 
TOUCHDOWNS SCORED25 15 
RED-ZONE SCORING20–23 87% 9–12 75% 
FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS6–6 7–11 
PAT-ATTEMPTS23–24 96% 14–15 93% 
ATTENDANCE231,653 127,595 
  Games/Avg per Game3/59,074 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
NameGPAttNetAvgTDLongAvg/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 
TEAM5 5 −11 −2.2 0 0 −2.2 
        
Total6 223 1,108 5.0 16 77 184.7 
Opponents6 182 481 2.6 4 36 80.2 

Passing
NameGPAtt-CompPctYdsTDINTLngAvg/G
Jarrett Brown6 96–140 68.6 1,209 8 558 201.5 
Geno Smith3 23–33 69.7 211 1 133 70.0 
Brad Starks6 1–1 100 31 0 031 5.2 
        
Total6 120–174 69.0 1,451 9 6 58 241.0 
Opponents6 111–220 50.5 1,279 10 9 82 212.7 

Receiving
NameGPNo.YdsAvgTDLongAvg/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 
        
Total5 104 1,285 12.4 8 58 257.0 
Opponents5 94 1,127 12.0 10 82 225.4 

Special teams
Name Punting Kickoffs
No.YdsAvgLongTBFCI20Blkd No.YdsAvgTBOB
Total
Name Punt Returns Kick Returns
No.YdsAvgTDLongNo.YdsAvgTDLong
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.
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