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2007 West Virginia

11–⁠2 (5–⁠2 Big East), coached by Rich Rodriguez, then Bill Stewart (interim, bowl game), finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

West Virginia in 2007, game by game: won vs. Western Michigan 62–24; won at Marshall 48–23; won at Maryland 31–14; won vs. East Carolina 48–7; lost at No. 18 South Florida 13–21; won at Syracuse 55–14; won vs. Mississippi State 38–13; won at No. 25 Rutgers 31–3; won vs. Louisville 38–31; won at No. 21 Cincinnati 28–23; won vs. No. 20 UConn 66–21; lost vs. Pittsburgh 9–13; won vs. No. 9 Oklahoma 48–28+45−8Won 62–24 vs. Western Michigan+38Western MichiganWon 48–23 at Marshall+25MarshallWon 31–14 at Maryland+17MarylandWon 48–7 vs. East Carolina+41East CarolinaLost 13–21 at No. 18 South Florida-8No. 18 South FloridaWon 55–14 at Syracuse+41SyracuseWon 38–13 vs. Mississippi State+25Mississippi Sta…Won 31–3 at No. 25 Rutgers+28No. 25 RutgersWon 38–31 vs. Louisville+7LouisvilleWon 28–23 at No. 21 Cincinnati+5No. 21 CincinnatiWon 66–21 vs. No. 20 UConn+45No. 20 UConnLost 9–13 vs. Pittsburgh-4PittsburghWon 48–28 vs. No. 9 Oklahoma+20No. 9 Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsWestern MichiganW 62–⁠2476%
Sep 8atMarshallW 48–⁠2372%
Sep 13atMarylandW 31–⁠1460%
Sep 22vsEast CarolinaW 48–⁠784%
Sep 28at18South FloridaL 13–⁠2158%
Oct 6atSyracuseW 55–⁠1483%
Oct 20vsMississippi StateW 38–⁠1384%
Oct 27at25RutgersW 31–⁠357%
Nov 8vsLouisvilleW 38–⁠3172%
Nov 17at21CincinnatiW 28–⁠2356%
Nov 24vs20UConnW 66–⁠2179%
Dec 1vsPittsburghL 9–⁠1390%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs9OklahomaFiesta BowlW 48–⁠2846%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Oklahoma 48–⁠28 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; Big East champions.

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

AP poll, week by week

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

Big East champions5–⁠2 in the conference, shared with UConn

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠2 shared first in Big East
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 2
Points
515–⁠235
Coach
Rich Rodriguez, then Bill Stewart (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1781 +129 this season
SP+ rating
28.2 No. 6 of 120; offense No. 8, defense No. 8, special teams No. 31
SRS
21.0 No. 1 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 24
Offensive coordinator
Calvin Magee
Defensive coordinator
Jeff Casteel
Offense
Spread option
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense7th of 119
  • Defense23rd of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1346%0.997th of 119
Defense-0.0139%0.8323rd 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 364% allowed
Defense0.0own 304% 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 2007 class

Noel Devine RB★★★★★No. 10
Gino Gradkowski OG★★★No. 400
Derek Knight S★★★No. 483
Eain Smith S★★★No. 483
Junius Lewis DT★★★No. 768

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

The 2007 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs24.00.911
Receivers32.00.786
Offensive line23.00.854
Defensive line23.00.843
Linebackers13.00.840
Defensive backs33.00.848
Athletes and specialists13.00.823
Whole class142.90.842

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 2008

The 2008 draft
Rd 3Steve Slaton RBHouston Texans
Rd 5Owen Schmitt FBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 6Ryan Mundy SPittsburgh Steelers

2007 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
West Virginia5–⁠211–⁠26
UConn5–⁠29–⁠4
Cincinnati4–⁠310–⁠317
South Florida4–⁠39–⁠4
Rutgers3–⁠48–⁠5
Louisville3–⁠46–⁠6
Pittsburgh3–⁠45–⁠7
Syracuse1–⁠62–⁠10

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