2010 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

American college football season August 2023 February 2026 2010 West Virginia Mountaineers football Big East Conference Big East 9–4 5–2 Bill Stewart 3rd Jeff Mullen 3rd Spread Jeff Casteel 9th 3–3–5 Jock Sanders (offense) Chris Neild (defense) Brandon Hogan (defense) Noel Devine Jock Sanders Chris Neild J. T. Thomas Milan Puskar Stadium Big East co-champion Champs Sports Bowl L 7–23 vs. NC State The 2010 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University as a member of the Big East Conference during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by Bill Stewart in his third and final season as head coach, the Mountaineers compiled an overall record of 9–4 with a mark of 5–2 in conference play, sharing the Big East title with Connecticut and Pittsburgh. Connecticut earned the conference's Bowl Championship Series (BCS) berth via a tiebreaker. West Virginia was invited the Champs Sports Bowl, where the Mountaineers lost to NC State. The team played home games at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia. Schedule 2010 AP Eastern September 4 3:30 p.m. w y 25 Coastal Carolina Milan Puskar Stadium Morgantown, WV ESPN Plus 31–0 57,867 https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=302470277 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score ESPN.com September 4, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100907051411/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=302470277 September 7, 2010 live September 10 7:00 p.m. w y y 23 Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV Friends of Coal Bowl ESPN 24–21 OT 41,382 https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=302530276 West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Marshall Thundering Herd Box Score ESPN.com September 10, 2010 September 18 12:00 p.m. w y 21 Maryland Milan Puskar Stadium Morgantown, WV ESPNU 31–17 60,122 https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=302610277 Maryland Terrapins vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score ESPN.com September 19, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100921103937/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=302610277 September 21, 2010 live September 25 9:15 p.m. l y y 22 LSU 15 Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA ESPN2 14–20 92,575 https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=302680099 West Virginia Mountaineers vs. LSU Tigers Box Score ESPN.com October 10, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100927175642/http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=302680099 September 27, 2010 live October 9 3:30 p.m. w y UNLV Milan Puskar Stadium Morgantown, WV ESPN Plus 49–10 58,234 https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=302820277 UNLV Rebels vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score ESPN.com October 10, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101012234733/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=302820277 October 12, 2010 live October 14 7:30 p.m. w 25 South Florida Milan Puskar Stadium Morgantown, WV Gold Rush ESPN 20–6 54,955 https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=302870277 South Florida Bulls vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score ESPN.com October 14, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101022111220/http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=302870277 October 22, 2010 live October 23 12:00 p.m. l y 20 Syracuse Milan Puskar Stadium Morgantown, WV rivalry ESPN2 14–19 58,122 October 29 8:00 p.m. l y Connecticut Rentschler Field East Hartford, CT ESPN2 13–16 OT 40,000 West Virginia at Connecticut Box Score https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=302750041 ESPN October 4, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101005032344/http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=302750041 October 5, 2010 live November 13 12:00 p.m. w Cincinnati Milan Puskar Stadium Morgantown, WV ESPN Plus 37–10 56,593 Cincinnati at West Virginia Box Score https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=303170277 ESPN November 13, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101117234454/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=303170277 November 17, 2010 live November 20 12:00 p.m. w y Louisville Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY ESPN Plus 17–10 51,772 West Virginia at Louisville Box Score https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=303240097 ESPN November 21, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101126165337/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=303240097 November 26, 2010 live November 26 12:00 p.m. w y Pittsburgh Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA Backyard Brawl ABC 35–10 60,562 West Virginia at Pittsburgh Box Score https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=303300221 ESPN November 27, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101201131759/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=303300221 December 1, 2010 live December 4 12:00 p.m. w 23 Rutgers Milan Puskar Stadium Morgantown, WV ABC 35–14 48,386 http://www.wvmetronews.com/wvu.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=41695 WVU-Rutgers Gameday Blog WV Metronews December 6, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101222090254/http://wvmetronews.com/wvu.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=41695 December 22, 2010 live December 28 6:30 p.m. l y 22 NC State Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL Champs Sports Bowl ESPN 7–23 48,962 https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=303620152 West Virginia Mountaineers vs NC State Wolfpack ESPN December 28, 2010 Rankings 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings 15 25 23 21 22 RV RV 25 20 RV NR NR NR RV 23 22 RV 24 22 21 21 RV RV 25 19 RV NR NR NR RV 24 22 RV 6 25 19 RV NR NR NR RV 23 21 7 20 NR NR NR NR NR 24 22 Game summaries Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 0 0 0 0 0 No. 25 Mountaineers 7 3 14 7 33 Marshall No. 23 Mountaineers 3 0 3 15 3 Thundering Herd 7 7 0 7 0 Friends of Coal Bowl Facing a 21–6 fourth-quarter deficit, West Virginia outscored Marshall 15–0 on drives of 96 and 98 yards in the final 8:28 of the game. In overtime WVU took the lead with a field goal and won 24–21 when Marshall's kicker Tyler Warner missed a 39-yard field goal attempt. The comeback win was significant because the loss would have marked Marshall's first-ever win in the series. Maryland Terrapins 0 0 14 3 17 No. 21 Mountaineers 14 7 7 3 31 LSU No. 22 Mountaineers 0 7 7 0 14 No. 15 Tigers 7 10 0 3 20 UNLV Rebels 0 0 3 7 Mountaineers 21 14 7 7 South Florida Bulls 0 3 3 0 6 No. 25 Mountaineers 10 7 3 0 20 Syracuse Orange 10 9 0 0 19 No. 20 Mountaineers 14 0 0 0 14 WVU lost their homecoming game to Syracuse after winning eight straight in the series. The loss, which saw Geno Smith throw three interceptions (after throwing only two all season), broke the Mountaineers' 12-game home winning streak and dropped the team out of the BCS standings. Coming into the game, West Virginia was the only ranked team in the Big East. Connecticut Mountaineers 10 0 3 0 0 Huskies 0 3 7 3 3 West Virginia lost to Connecticut for the first time in history after WVU's Ryan Clarke fumbled at the UConn one yard line and Connecticut's Dave Teggart kicked the game-winning, 27-yard field goal in overtime. After the loss, the WVU coaching staff received criticism from fans and the media over the team's offensive struggles in two consecutive Big East conference games against Syracuse and the Huskies.Mullen Stands Up to Critics Dave Hickman http://wvgazette.com/Sports/WVU/201011111205 The Charleston Gazette November 11, 2010 November 13, 2011 April 6, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120406093051/http://wvgazette.com/Sports/WVU/201011111205 dead Cincinnati Bearcats 0 3 7 0 Mountaineers 14 16 7 0 After losing two consecutive conference games, the Mountaineers needed to win against the Bearcats to stay in the Big East race. The Mountaineers snapped a two-game losing skid against Cincinnati by getting off to a quick start behind Geno Smith's four first-half touchdown passes. Louisville Mountaineers 7 7 3 0 Cardinals 3 7 0 0 24 The Mountaineers stayed in contention for the Big East title by winning 17–10 on the road in a contest highlighted by defensive performances. The West Virginia defense, at the time ranked 4th in the country and first in the Big East Conference, held the Big East's best rushing team (averaging 192 yards per game) to a total of 26 yards on the ground.http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303240097 West Virginia stops Louisville, sets up showdown with Big East leader Pitt ESPN November 21, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101126165336/http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303240097 November 26, 2010 dead The defense allowed only 3 offensive points—the other 7 coming off a Louisville fumble recovery in the end zone—and held the Cardinals to 2 of 13 on 3rd-down conversions. However, the WVU offense failed to score a second-half touchdown for the fourth time in its five conference games. The Mountaineers also remained scoreless in the fourth quarter in Big East play. Pittsburgh Mountaineers 7 7 14 7 35 Panthers 7 0 3 0 10 Backyard Brawl In the 103rd edition of the Backyard Brawl, the Mountaineers remained in contention for the Big East's BCS Bowl bid by winning 35–10 at Heinz Field. Pittsburgh controlled its own destiny, and needed to win its last two games to claim the Big East title and BCS bowl berth outright, but the West Virginia defense forced 4 turnovers off of 6 Panther fumbles and an interception to defeat Pitt for the second year in a row.http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303300221 West Virginia knocks Pitt out of Big East lead ESPN December 1, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101201131758/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=303300221 December 1, 2010 dead The West Virginia offense, plagued by poor performances in the second half of its previous Big East games, showed improvement by totaling 21 points in the second half and breaking its scoreless streak in the fourth quarter of conference games. The momentum heavily favored the Mountaineers after Geno Smith threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Tavon Austin to make the score 21–7 in the third quarter. Following the win, the Mountaineers appeared in the top 25 rankings, listed 24 in the BCS and 23 in the AP, for the first time since their home loss to Syracuse over a month earlier. Rutgers Scarlet Knights 0 7 0 7 14 No. 24 Mountaineers 7 7 7 14 35 Geno Smith threw for a career-high 352 yards, Ryan Clarke had three short touchdown runs, and No. 23 West Virginia overcame turnover problems to beat the Scarlet Knights 35–14 to clinch a share of the Big East title. It marked the fifth shared or outright Big East title for the Mountaineers since 2003. Smith finished the season with 2,567 passing yards and 22 TDs. Both are the second most in school history behind Marc Bulger's 3,607 yards and 31 TDs in 1998. WVU extended its winning streak over Rutgers to 15, and have never lost to the Scarlet Knights in Morgantown. After defeating Rutgers in the regular season finale, WVU needed a UCONN loss to obtain berth in a BCS bowl. The Huskies defeated South Florida later that evening, and despite winning a share of the Big East title, the Mountaineers lost the head-to-head tiebreaker with Connecticut, who received the conference's BCS bowl bid. References West Virginia Category:West Virginia Mountaineers football seasons Category:Big East Conference football champion seasons West Virginia Mountaineers football