CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2011 West Virginia

10–⁠3 (5–⁠2 Big East), coached by Dana Holgorsen, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

West Virginia in 2011, game by game: won vs. Marshall 34–13; won vs. Norfolk State 55–12; won at Maryland 37–31; lost vs. No. 2 LSU 21–47; won vs. Bowling Green 55–10; won vs. UConn 43–16; lost at Syracuse 23–49; won at Rutgers 41–31; lost vs. Louisville 35–38; won at No. 23 Cincinnati 24–21; won vs. Pittsburgh 21–20; won at South Florida 30–27; won vs. No. 14 Clemson 70–33+45−26Won 34–13 vs. Marshall+21MarshallWon 55–12 vs. Norfolk State+43Norfolk StateWon 37–31 at Maryland+6MarylandLost 21–47 vs. No. 2 LSU-26No. 2 LSUWon 55–10 vs. Bowling Green+45Bowling GreenWon 43–16 vs. UConn+27UConnLost 23–49 at Syracuse-26SyracuseWon 41–31 at Rutgers+10RutgersLost 35–38 vs. Louisville-3LouisvilleWon 24–21 at No. 23 Cincinnati+3No. 23 CincinnatiWon 21–20 vs. Pittsburgh+1PittsburghWon 30–27 at South Florida+3South FloridaWon 70–33 vs. No. 14 Clemson+37No. 14 Clemson
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsMarshallW 34–⁠1375%
Sep 10vsNorfolk StateW 55–⁠1286%
Sep 17atMarylandW 37–⁠3150%
Sep 24vs2LSUL 21–⁠4748%
Oct 1vsBowling GreenW 55–⁠1075%
Oct 8vsUConnW 43–⁠1672%
Oct 21atSyracuseL 23–⁠4962%
Oct 29atRutgersW 41–⁠3150%
Nov 5vsLouisvilleL 35–⁠3871%
Nov 12at23CincinnatiW 24–⁠2141%
Nov 25vsPittsburghW 21–⁠2064%
Dec 1atSouth FloridaW 30–⁠2756%
Jan 4Bowls & playoffvs14ClemsonOrange BowlW 70–⁠3346%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Clemson 70–⁠33 in the Orange Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll; Big East champions.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 24
  2. Wk 2: 19
  3. Wk 3: 18
  4. Wk 4: 16
  5. Wk 5: 22
  6. Wk 6: 16
  7. Wk 7: 13
  8. Wk 8: 11
  9. Wk 9: 25
  10. Wk 10: 24
  11. Wk 14: 22
  12. Wk 15: 23
  13. Final: 17

Big East champions5–⁠2 in the conference, shared with Cincinnati and Louisville

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠2 shared first in Big East
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 11
Points
489–⁠348
Coach
Dana Holgorsen
Elo
1674 +80 this season
SP+ rating
16.8 No. 19 of 120; offense No. 14, defense No. 33, special teams No. 90
SRS
7.8 No. 27 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 52
Defensive coordinator
Jeff Casteel
Captains
Geno Smith, Don Barclay, Najee Goode and Keith Tandy
Offense
Air raid
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense11th of 120
  • Defense15th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted9th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted22nd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1345%0.9611th of 120
Defense-0.0138%0.8915th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
0.01 def		45% off
39% def		—9th off
22nd def
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. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 312% allowed
Defense-0.2own 333% 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.

Leaders

Passing yardsGeno Smith QB4,385 yds
Passing touchdownsGeno Smith QB31 TD
Rushing yardsDustin Garrison RB742 yds
Rushing touchdownsShawne Alston RB12 TD
Receiving yardsStedman Bailey WR1,279 yds
Receiving touchdownsStedman Bailey WR12 TD
InterceptionsKeith Tandy DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2011 class

Terrell Chestnut CB★★★No. 335
Vance Roberts CB★★★No. 377
Andrew Buie APB★★★No. 424
K.J. Myers WR★★★No. 914
Dante Campbell WR★★★No. 964

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

The 2011 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.802
Running backs22.50.830
Receivers33.00.832
Offensive line42.80.805
Defensive line23.00.821
Linebackers23.00.823
Defensive backs33.00.857
Athletes and specialists13.00.829
Whole class192.80.825

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 2012

The 2012 draft
Rd 1Bruce Irvin OLBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 5Najee Goode ILBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 6Keith Tandy CBTampa Bay Buccaneers

Roster 108

The 2011 roster

108 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2011 line; 28 have a stat line. See the roster

2011 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Cincinnati5–⁠210–⁠325
West Virginia5–⁠210–⁠317
Louisville5–⁠27–⁠6
Rutgers4–⁠39–⁠4
Pittsburgh4–⁠36–⁠7
UConn3–⁠45–⁠7
South Florida1–⁠65–⁠7
Syracuse1–⁠65–⁠7

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