CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2005 West Virginia

11–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Big East), coached by Rich Rodriguez, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

West Virginia in 2005, game by game: won at Syracuse 15–7; won vs. Wofford 35–7; won at Maryland 31–19; won vs. East Carolina 20–15; lost vs. No. 3 Virginia Tech 17–34; won at Rutgers 27–14; won vs. No. 19 Louisville 46–44; won vs. UConn 45–13; won at Cincinnati 38–0; won vs. Pittsburgh 45–13; won at South Florida 28–13; won vs. No. 13 Georgia 38–35+38−17Won 15–7 at Syracuse+8SyracuseWon 35–7 vs. Wofford+28WoffordWon 31–19 at Maryland+12MarylandWon 20–15 vs. East Carolina+5East CarolinaLost 17–34 vs. No. 3 Virginia Tech-17No. 3 Virginia TechWon 27–14 at Rutgers+13RutgersWon 46–44 vs. No. 19 Louisville+2No. 19 LouisvilleWon 45–13 vs. UConn+32UConnWon 38–0 at Cincinnati+38CincinnatiWon 45–13 vs. Pittsburgh+32PittsburghWon 28–13 at South Florida+15South FloridaWon 38–35 vs. No. 13 Georgia+3No. 13 Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atSyracuseW 15–⁠749%
Sep 10vsWoffordW 35–⁠783%
Sep 17atMarylandW 31–⁠1951%
Sep 24vsEast CarolinaW 20–⁠1587%
Oct 1vs3Virginia TechL 17–⁠3446%
Oct 8atRutgersW 27–⁠1460%
Oct 15vs19LouisvilleW 46–⁠4451%
Nov 2vsUConnW 45–⁠1370%
Nov 9atCincinnatiW 38–⁠062%
Nov 24vsPittsburghW 45–⁠1373%
Dec 3atSouth FloridaW 28–⁠1363%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs13GeorgiaSugar BowlW 38–⁠3543%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Georgia 38–⁠35 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 5 in the final AP poll; Big East champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 20
  2. Wk 9: 18
  3. Wk 10: 18
  4. Wk 11: 16
  5. Wk 12: 13
  6. Wk 13: 12
  7. Wk 14: 12
  8. Final: 5

Big East champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationSteve Slaton: points per game (16.3)

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Big East
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 5
Points
385–⁠214
Coach
Rich Rodriguez
Elo
1732 +166 this season
SP+ rating
15.8 No. 21 of 118; offense No. 29, defense No. 26
SRS
13.0 No. 14 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 37
Offensive coordinator
Calvin Magee
Defensive coordinator
Jeff Casteel
Captains
Garin Justice, Mike Lorello, Jahmile Addae and Ernest Hunter
Offense
Spread option
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense43rd of 119
  • Defense28th of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0938%1.0243rd of 119
Defense0.0240%0.9428th of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 342% allowed
Defense0.0own 303% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2005 class

Jason Gwaltney RB★★★★★No. 25
Jon Walko OT★★★No. 829
Ed Collington RB★★★No. 829
Frank Carduffklin OG★★No. 966
Scooter Berry FB★★No. 966

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2005 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs43.00.833
Receivers42.00.739
Offensive line22.50.800
Defensive line12.00.767
Defensive backs22.00.722
Athletes and specialists22.00.745
Whole class152.30.773

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2006

The 2006 draft
Rd 6Alton McCann DBDetroit Lions

2005 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
West Virginia7–⁠011–⁠15
Louisville5–⁠29–⁠319
Rutgers4–⁠37–⁠5
South Florida4–⁠36–⁠6
Pittsburgh4–⁠35–⁠6
UConn2–⁠55–⁠6
Cincinnati2–⁠54–⁠7
Syracuse0–⁠71–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.