2019 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

Last updated

2019 West Virginia Mountaineers football
West Virginia Mountaineers logo.svg
Conference Big 12 Conference
Record5–7 (3–6 Big 12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMatt Moore (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinator Chad Scott (1st season)
Offensive scheme Spread
Defensive coordinator Vic Koenning (1st season)
Base defense 3–3–5
Home stadium Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium
Uniform
West virginia football unif.png
Seasons
  2018
2020  
2019 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 7 Oklahoma y$^  8 1   12 2  
No. 13 Baylor y  8 1   11 3  
No. 25 Texas  5 4   8 5  
Oklahoma State  5 4   8 5  
Kansas State  5 4   8 5  
Iowa State  5 4   7 6  
West Virginia  3 6   5 7  
TCU  3 6   5 7  
Texas Tech  2 7   4 8  
Kansas  1 8   3 9  
Championship: Oklahoma 30, Baylor 23 OT
  • ^ College Football Playoff participant
  • $ Conference champion
  • y Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2019 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mountaineers played their home games at the Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, in Morgantown, West Virginia, and competed in the Big 12 Conference. They were led by first-year head coach Neal Brown, who previously coached at Troy University. They finished the season 5–7, 3–6 in Big 12 play to finish in a tie for seventh place.

Contents

Preseason

Big 12 media poll

The 2019 Big 12 media days were held July 15–16, 2019 in Frisco, Texas. In the Big 12 preseason media poll, West Virginia was predicted to finish in eighth in the standings. [1]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 312:00 p.m.No. 2 (FCS) James Madison * AT&TSN Pitt W 20–1361,891
September 712:00 p.m.at Missouri * ESPN2 L 7–3851,215
September 1412:00 p.m. NC State *
  • Milan Puskar Stadium
  • Morgantown, WV (Gold Rush)
FS1 W 44–2757,052
September 214:30 p.m.at Kansas ESPN+ W 29–2435,816
October 53:30 p.m.No. 11 Texas Dagger-14-plain.png
ABC L 31–4262,069
October 124:00 p.m. Iowa State
  • Milan Puskar Stadium
  • Morgantown, WV
ESPN L 14–3851,836
October 1912:00 p.m.at No. 5 Oklahoma FOX L 14–5282,620
October 318:00 p.m.at No. 12 Baylor ESPNL 14–1746,379
November 912:00 p.m. Texas Tech
  • Milan Puskar Stadium
  • Morgantown, WV (True Blue)
ESPN2L 17–3856,573
November 162:30 p.m.at No. 24 Kansas State ESPNW 24–2046,332
November 2312:00 p.m.No. 21 Oklahoma State
  • Milan Puskar Stadium
  • Morgantown, WV
ESPN2L 13–2046,022
November 294:15 p.m.at TCU ESPNW 20–1740,126

[2]

Personnel

Coaching staff

Neal Brown
Jahmile AddaeDefensive Backs
Xavier Dye – Wide Receivers
Vic KoenningDefensive Coordinator
Jordan Lesley – Defensive Line
Matt Moore – Co-Offensive Coordinator, Offensive Line
Al Pogue – Outside Linebackers
Sean Reagan – Quarterbacks
Chad ScottCo-Offensive Coordinator, Running Backs
Blake Seiler – Inside Linebackers
Travis TrickettTight Ends, Inside Receivers

Game summaries

James Madison

1234Total
No. 2 (FCS) Dukes703313
Mountaineers0371020

At Missouri

1234Total
Mountaineers00077
Tigers10210738

NC State

1234Total
Wolfpack7146027
Mountaineers147101344

At Kansas

1234Total
Mountaineers7310929
Jayhawks0710724

West Virginia was expected to take advantage of observing the Jayhawks offensive performance the prior week where Kansas had beaten Boston College. [3] When the game rolled around, the Jayhawk offense made two specific mistakes that impacted the game: A lost fumble and a fourth quarter interception. Kansas averaged 7.4 yards per play on offense. It also appeared that KU kicker Liam Jones faked an injury after a field goal to make way for Jacob Borcila to "replace" him at the next kickoff to execute an onside kick—which they recovered but then lost due to a penalty. West Virginia won the game 29-24. [4]

Texas

1234Total
No. 11 Longhorns71402142
Mountaineers7731431

Iowa State

1234Total
Cyclones01471738
Mountaineers770014

At Oklahoma

1234Total
Mountaineers0140014
No. 5 Sooners141421352

At Baylor

1234Total
Mountaineers0014014
No. 12 Bears707317

Texas Tech

1234Total
Red Raiders21140338
Mountaineers370717

At Kansas State

1234Total
Mountaineers14001024
No. 24 Wildcats1037020

West Virginia's Jarret Doege started at quarterback and threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns. This was the first start at West Virginia for Doege who transferred from Bowling Green, as Austin Kendall had been the starting quarterback all season for the Mountaineers. Doege's biggest throw was a 50-yard touchdown pass on third-and-22 in the fourth quarter to take the lead. [5]

Kansas State started strong, holding West Virginia to "three-and-out" and then Skylar Thompson threw a 68-yard touchdown pass on their first play from scrimmage. Thompson ended up 24 of 39 for 299 yards passing with a touchdown but also gave up two interceptions. On the ground, the Wildcats ran the ball 32 times but averaged only 3.2 yards per attempt. [5]

West Virginia cornerback Hakeem Bailey intercepted Skylar Thompson’s pass toward the end zone in the closing seconds of the game. The Mountaineers left Manhattan with a 24-20 upset of the Wildcats. [5]

Oklahoma State

1234Total
No. 21 Cowboys7031020
Mountaineers0103013

At TCU

1234Total
Mountaineers733720
Horned Frogs737017

Players drafted into the NFL

RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL Club
5152 Kenny Robinson S Carolina Panthers
5153 Colton McKivitz OT San Francisco 49ers

References

  1. "Sooners Picked First in Media Preseason Poll". big12sports.com. Big 12 Conference. July 10, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  2. "2019 West Virginia Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  3. Smith, Benton (September 20, 2019). "Game day breakdown: KU football vs. West Virginia". Lawrence Journal-World . Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  4. Newell, Jesse (September 22, 2019). "Grades from KU football's 29-24 loss to West Virginia and looking ahead to TCU". Kansas City Star . Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 Skretta, Dave (November 16, 2019). "Kansas State stunned at home in 24-20 loss to West Virginia". Fox Sports . Retrieved November 18, 2019.