CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 West Virginia

7–⁠6 (5–⁠4 Big 12), coached by Dana Holgorsen.

Schedule and results

West Virginia in 2017, game by game: lost vs. No. 21 Virginia Tech 24–31; won vs. East Carolina 56–20; won vs. Delaware State 59–16; won at Kansas 56–34; lost at No. 8 TCU 24–31; won vs. No. 24 Texas Tech 46–35; won at Baylor 38–36; lost vs. No. 11 Oklahoma State 39–50; won vs. No. 14 Iowa State 20–16; won at Kansas State 28–23; lost vs. Texas 14–28; lost at No. 3 Oklahoma 31–59; lost vs. Utah 14–30+43−28Lost 24–31 vs. No. 21 Virginia Tech-7No. 21 Virginia TechWon 56–20 vs. East Carolina+36East CarolinaWon 59–16 vs. Delaware State+43Delaware StateWon 56–34 at Kansas+22KansasLost 24–31 at No. 8 TCU-7No. 8 TCUWon 46–35 vs. No. 24 Texas Tech+11No. 24 Texas TechWon 38–36 at Baylor+2BaylorLost 39–50 vs. No. 11 Oklahoma State-11No. 11 Oklahoma StateWon 20–16 vs. No. 14 Iowa State+4No. 14 Iowa StateWon 28–23 at Kansas State+5Kansas StateLost 14–28 vs. Texas-14TexasLost 31–59 at No. 3 Oklahoma-28No. 3 OklahomaLost 14–30 vs. Utah-16Utah
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vs21Virginia TechL 24–⁠3148%
Sep 9vsEast CarolinaW 56–⁠2079%
Sep 16vsDelaware StateW 59–⁠1696%
Sep 23atKansasW 56–⁠3475%
Oct 7at8TCUL 24–⁠3134%
Oct 14vs24Texas TechW 46–⁠3561%
Oct 21atBaylorW 38–⁠3665%
Oct 28vs11Oklahoma StateL 39–⁠5044%
Nov 4vs14Iowa StateW 20–⁠1658%
Nov 11atKansas StateW 28–⁠2345%
Nov 18vsTexasL 14–⁠2868%
Nov 25at3OklahomaL 31–⁠5918%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsUtahHeart of Dallas BowlL 14–⁠3050%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Utah 30–⁠14 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 22
  2. Wk 5: 23
  3. Wk 6: 23
  4. Wk 8: 23
  5. Wk 9: 22
  6. Wk 11: 23
  7. Wk 12: 24

Led the nationAnthony Miller: receiving touchdowns (18 TD)

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 4th in Big 12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 22
Points
449–⁠409
Coach
Dana Holgorsen
Elo
1539 −44 this season
SP+ rating
5.6 No. 49 of 128; offense No. 36, defense No. 65, special teams No. 91
SRS
4.2 No. 47 of 130 in FBS
Returning
28% of last season’s EPA, No. 116 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 57 roster talent No. 43 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jake Spavital
Defensive coordinator
Tony Gibson
Offense
Air raid
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense34th of 130
  • Defense83rd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted28th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted73rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1543%1.2534th of 130
Defense0.1342%1.2783rd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.16 off
0.10 def		45% off
41% def		—28th off
73rd 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
Offense4.1own 3016% allowed
Defense3.4own 3217% caused

CORE rating 6.9, 36th of 130 (offense 5.9, defense -1.0).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsWill Grier QB3,490 yds
Passing touchdownsWill Grier QB34 TD
Rushing yardsJustin Crawford RB1,061 yds
Rushing touchdownsJustin Crawford RB7 TD
Receiving yardsGary Jennings WR1,096 yds
Receiving touchdownsDavid Sills V WR18 TD
TacklesAl-Rasheed Benton LB110 tkl
SacksEzekiel Rose DL5 sacks
InterceptionsKenny Robinson S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Derrek Pitts ATH★★★No. 457
Tevin Bush APB★★★No. 679
Reggie Roberson WR★★★No. 759
Kenny Robinson ATH★★★No. 804
Maverick Wolfley FB★★★No. 824

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs42.80.823
Receivers13.00.856
Offensive line13.00.838
Defensive line23.00.839
Defensive backs33.00.842
Athletes and specialists33.00.855
Whole class142.90.840

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 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 4Kyzir White SLos Angeles Chargers

Roster 112

The 2017 roster

112 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big 12

1 first team, 5 second team

First team

  • David SillsWRCoaches-1; Media-1

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2017 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2017 Big 12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma8–⁠112–⁠23
TCU7–⁠211–⁠39
Oklahoma State6–⁠310–⁠314
Kansas State5–⁠48–⁠5
Iowa State5–⁠48–⁠5
Texas5–⁠47–⁠6
West Virginia5–⁠47–⁠6
Texas Tech3–⁠66–⁠7
Baylor1–⁠81–⁠11
Kansas0–⁠91–⁠11

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