CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2006 West Virginia

11–⁠2 (5–⁠2 Big East), coached by Rich Rodriguez, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

West Virginia in 2006, game by game: won vs. Marshall 42–10; won vs. Eastern Washington 52–3; won vs. Maryland 45–24; won at East Carolina 27–10; won at Mississippi State 42–14; won vs. Syracuse 41–17; won at UConn 37–11; lost at No. 5 Louisville 34–44; won vs. Cincinnati 42–24; won at Pittsburgh 45–27; lost vs. South Florida 19–24; won vs. No. 13 Rutgers 41–39; won vs. No. 23 Georgia Tech 38–35+49−10Won 42–10 vs. Marshall+32MarshallWon 52–3 vs. Eastern Washington+49Eastern Washing…Won 45–24 vs. Maryland+21MarylandWon 27–10 at East Carolina+17East CarolinaWon 42–14 at Mississippi State+28Mississippi Sta…Won 41–17 vs. Syracuse+24SyracuseWon 37–11 at UConn+26UConnLost 34–44 at No. 5 Louisville-10No. 5 LouisvilleWon 42–24 vs. Cincinnati+18CincinnatiWon 45–27 at Pittsburgh+18PittsburghLost 19–24 vs. South Florida-5South FloridaWon 41–39 vs. No. 13 Rutgers+2No. 13 RutgersWon 38–35 vs. No. 23 Georgia Tech+3No. 23 Georgia Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsMarshallW 42–⁠1083%
Sep 9vsEastern WashingtonW 52–⁠388%
Sep 14vsMarylandW 45–⁠2475%
Sep 23atEast CarolinaW 27–⁠1075%
Oct 7atMississippi StateW 42–⁠1482%
Oct 14vsSyracuseW 41–⁠1787%
Oct 20atUConnW 37–⁠1176%
Nov 2at5LouisvilleL 34–⁠4442%
Nov 11vsCincinnatiW 42–⁠2481%
Nov 16atPittsburghW 45–⁠2765%
Nov 25vsSouth FloridaL 19–⁠2481%
Dec 2vs13RutgersW 41–⁠3967%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs23Georgia TechGator BowlW 38–⁠3563%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Georgia Tech 38–⁠35 in the Gator Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big East.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 5
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 5
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 4
  6. Wk 6: 4
  7. Wk 7: 5
  8. Wk 8: 4
  9. Wk 9: 4
  10. Wk 10: 3
  11. Wk 11: 10
  12. Wk 12: 8
  13. Wk 13: 7
  14. Wk 14: 15
  15. Final: 10

Heisman voteSteve Slaton, fourth

Rimington TrophyDan Mozes, C

2 consensus All-AmericansSteve Slaton, RB; Dan Mozes, C

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big East
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 3
Points
505–⁠282
Coach
Rich Rodriguez
Elo
1728 +74 this season
SP+ rating
25.4 No. 6 of 119; offense No. 3, defense No. 28, special teams No. 14
SRS
17.7 No. 7 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 60
Offensive coordinator
Calvin Magee
Defensive coordinator
Jeff Casteel
Offense
Spread option
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense11th of 119
  • Defense46th of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1444%1.0111th of 119
Defense0.0339%1.0346th 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-0.1own 323% allowed
Defense-0.4own 293% 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 2006 class

John Maddox S★★★No. 306
Eric Jobe OT★★★No. 992
Eric Rodemoyer OG★★★No. 1183
Jake Miller OT★★No. 1370
Marcus Broxie WDE★★No. 1370

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

The 2006 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Offensive line42.50.772
Defensive line12.00.767
Defensive backs22.50.826
Whole class72.40.787

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.

2006 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Louisville6–⁠112–⁠16
Rutgers5–⁠211–⁠212
West Virginia5–⁠211–⁠210
South Florida4–⁠39–⁠4
Cincinnati4–⁠38–⁠5
Pittsburgh2–⁠56–⁠6
UConn1–⁠64–⁠8
Syracuse1–⁠64–⁠8

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