The 2005 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University as a member of the Big East Conference during the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Rich Rodriguez, the Mountaineers compiled an overall record of 11–1 with a mark of 7–0 in conference play, winning the Big East for the third consecutive season. West Virginia was invited to the Sugar Bowl, where the Mountaineers defeated Georgia. The team played home games at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Schedule
Rankings
Preseason The 2005 season followed a disappointing 2004 campaign, where the Mountaineers started the season with National Championship expectations only to finish the season 8–4. Despite a number of starters returning on defense, the question marks on offense lead many to think the '05 season was going to be a rebuilding year with most national publications picking the Mountaineers to finish behind Louisville and Pitt or lower. With QB Rasheed Marshall and RB K.J. Harris leaving, the quarterback and halfback positions were open. Adam Bednarik and redshirt-freshman Pat White were competing for the spot, with Coach Rich Rodriguez opting to use a rotation that allowed them both to play. It marked the first season for the "new" Big East, welcoming Louisville, Cincinnati, and South Florida into the league following Boston College leaving to join former members Virginia Tech and Miami in the ACC, and Temple getting kicked out of the league.
Game summaries At Syracuse
The 2005 West Virginia Mountaineers opened the football season at Syracuse. Syracuse was playing its first game under new head coach Greg Robinson. The Mountaineers committed 5 turnovers, including 4 lost fumbles, but managed to hold on to a lead for a 15–7 win. Syracuse started the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run by tailback Damien Rhodes.
West Virginia tied the game at 7 with Eric Wicks's 32-yard interception return for a touchdown. Right before halftime, the Mountaineers had a chance to take a 10–7 lead, but freshman place-kicker Pat McAfee missed a 47-yard field goal wide right. He redeemed himself later with a 33-yard field goal with 5:33 left in the third quarter.
With just over 8 minutes left in the game, West Virginia's Ernest Hunter tackled Perry Patterson in the end zone for a safety to increase the lead to 12–7. On West Virginia's next possession they added a 26-yard field goal by McAfee with 3 minutes left. The win brought the Mountaineers record to 1–0, and the Orangemen fell to 0–1. The win increased WVU's streak to 4 wins over Syracuse.
Statistics Statistics West VirginiaSyracuse First downs 16 7 Total yards 339 103 Passing yards 167 85 Rushing yards 172 18 Penalties 7-65 11-71 Turnovers 5 2 Time of possession 33:55 26:05 Team Category Player StatisticsWest Virginia Passing Adam Bednarik 14–21, 104 yards, 1 INT Rushing Adam Bednarik 12 carries, 72 yards Receiving Brandon Myles 5 receptions, 76 yardsSyracuse Passing Perry Patterson 15–31, 85 yards, 2 INTs Rushing Damien Rhodes 16 carries, 46 yards, 1 TD Receiving Damien Rhodes 7 receptions, 21 yards
Wofford
Backup quarterback Pat White ran for 107 yards and a touchdown to lead West Virginia to a 35–7 victory over I-AA Wofford. West Virginia finished the game with over 500 yards of total offense, and no turnovers.
Statistics Statistics WoffordWest Virginia First downs 10 24 Total yards 154 511 Passing yards 76 172 Rushing yards 78 339 Penalties 3-35 5-47 Turnovers 4 0 Time of possession 27:13 32:47 Team Category Player StatisticsWofford Passing Josh Collier 5–9, 70 yards, 2 INTs Rushing Michael Hobbs 13 carries, 40 yards, 1 TD Receiving Brandon Berry 2 receptions, 15 yardsWest Virginia Passing Adam Bednarik 6-6, 90 yards, 1 TD Rushing Pat White 11 carries, 107 yards, 1 TD Receiving Brandon Myles 3 receptions, 57 yards
At Maryland
Backup quarterback Pat White directed three fourth-quarter touchdown drives, and West Virginia ripped Maryland's defense for 301 yards rushing in a 31–19 victory. Freshman Jason Gwaltney scored two touchdowns for the Mountaineers (3–0), who had lost three straight at Maryland (1–2) since 1997. West Virginia let a 15-point lead dwindle to 21–19 before Gwaltney scored on a 15-yard run with 4:56 left. The Mountaineers then recovered a fumble by Maryland quarterback Sam Hollenbach, and Pat McAfee kicked a 40-yard field goal to make it 31–19 with 2:18 remaining. White went 3-for-5 for 29 yards, but guided an offense that amassed 24 points and 144 yards in the final 15 minutes.
Statistics Statistics West VirginiaMaryland First downs 18 15 Total yards 387 341 Passing yards 86 291 Rushing yards 301 50 Penalties 9-68 4-30 Turnovers 1 1 Time of possession 35:40 24:20 Team Category Player StatisticsWest Virginia Passing Adam Bednarik 5–6, 57 yards Rushing Owen Schmitt 6 carries, 80 yards, 1 TD Receiving Brandon Myles 3 receptions, 52 yardsMaryland Passing Sam Hollenbach 20–31, 291 yards, 2 TDs Rushing Mario Merrills 9 carries, 35 yards Receiving Vernon Davis 5 receptions, 158 yards, 1 TD
East Carolina
The previous 3 times the Mountaineers played East Carolina were blow-outs, 37–17, 48–7, and 56–23. This one appeared to be another one after the Mountaineers led 20–6 at half-time. The offense looked terrible the entire game, as they turned the ball over 4 times. Backup quarterback Pat White tossed two interceptions and Adam Bednarik threw one and fumbled once before leaving the game with a knee injury in the first quarter. The defense had to constantly defend short fields, after turnovers in their own territory. The defense only allowed 287 yards and 1 touchdown in the entire game. West Virginia failed to score a single second half point, and managed to escape 20–15.
Statistics Statistics East CarolinaWest Virginia First downs 20 17 Total yards 287 307 Passing yards 206 180 Rushing yards 81 127 Penalties 3-25 5-49 Turnovers 2 4 Time of possession 31:53 28:07
Virginia Tech
Third-ranked Virginia Tech clashed with West Virginia, at Milan Puskar Stadium in a showdown of two 4–0 unbeaten teams. Virginia Tech had a monster game from their star quarterback, Marcus Vick. The junior completed 15 of 17 passes for 177 yards, and rushed for 74 yards on 12 carries. Virginia Tech jumped out to an early 10–0 lead, through a West Virginia turnover. Virginia Tech played a solid game, converting 10 out of 15 third down attempts, and having only one turnover. With Virginia Tech leading 24–17 late in the fourth quarter, a touchdown run sealed the deal for the Mountaineers who fell to 4–1 on the season. True freshman Steve Slaton was a bright spot for the Mountaineers, rushing for 90 yards on 11 carries.
Statistics Statistics Virginia TechWest Virginia First downs 23 11 Total yards 391 253 Passing yards 177 103 Rushing yards 214 150 Penalties 2-10 7-55 Turnovers 0 2 Time of possession 37:21 22:39
At Rutgers
Steve Slaton ran for a career-high 139 yards and one touchdown to help West Virginia beat Rutgers 27–14. Jason Gwaltney added 57 yards rushing for West Virginia which beat Rutgers for the 11th straight time. West Virginia rushed for 236 yards against a depleted Rutgers defense, which was without three starters—linebacker Terry Bynes, defensive back Jason Nugent and end Eric Foster.
Statistics Statistics West VirginiaRutgers First downs 15 17 Total yards 314 295 Passing yards 78 171 Rushing yards 236 124 Penalties 5-34 7-45 Turnovers 0 4 Time of possession 26:16 33:44
Louisville
In one of the best games of the year, The Louisville Cardinals clashed with the West Virginia Mountaineers who were 5–1. Louisville completely dominated the first half of play racing to a 17–0 lead. West Virginia finally got on the board in the third quarter, when Bednarik hit freshman Steve Slaton on a 14-yard screen-pass for a touchdown. Louisville answered with another touchdown in the third quarter, to take a 24–7 lead after 3 quarters. Early in the 4th quarter starting QB Adam Bednarik left the game with a leg injury and was replaced by Pat White, which proved to be the spark the offense needed.
With just over 8 minutes left in the game, Steve Slaton scored a rushing touchdown to make the score 24–14. With 4:35 left in the game, Pat McAfee kicked a 35-yard field goal to trim the margin to 7. WVU's defense held, and the Mountaineers came back on offense again. Steve Slaton scored with a minute to go to tie the game at 24–24, and send the game into overtime. Starting in the third OT teams are forced to go for two following a TD, Pat White hit Jalloh on a pass which ended up being the deciding points. Louisville responded with a Michael Bush touchdown. On the conversion Brian Brohm, unable to find anyone open, attempted to scramble for the conversion but was tackled short, preserving the WVU victory and giving the Mountaineers the inside track for the conference's BCS berth.
Statistics Statistics LouisvilleWest Virginia First downs 26 20 Total yards 459 390 Passing yards 277 109 Rushing yards 182 281 Penalties 9-81 9-85 Turnovers 1 0 Time of possession 30:56 29:04
Connecticut
Pat White ran for two touchdowns and threw for another in his first start, leading No. 18 West Virginia to a 45–13 win over Connecticut. West Virginia showed no signs of sluggishness from an 18-day layoff. The Mountaineers built a 35–3 halftime lead, getting a pair of touchdowns following turnovers. The defense limited UConn to 12 rushing yards and 129 overall, the fewest allowed by West Virginia in three seasons. UConn had one of Division I-A's top defenses statistically, but four of its opponents have a combined record of 3–29. The nation's ninth-best rushing attack used a rotation of backs to compile 228 yards against the Huskies. White frustrated UConn with his legs and his arm. He ran for 63 yards on 12 carries.
White hit Brandon Myles with a 20-yard TD pass early in the second quarter. On the first play of the ensuing drive, West Virginia's Warren Young recovered a fumble at the UConn 20.
White then leveled two UConn players on a block that saved teammate Steve Slaton from a big loss. Two plays later, White eluded three defenders on a bootleg run to the right and scored from 14 yards out for a 28–3 lead.
At Cincinnati
Pat White ran for 111 yards, taking off on quarterback draws that set up Steve Slaton's four touchdowns and a 38–0 victory over Cincinnati. White, Slaton and one of the nation's toughest defenses led the Mountaineers to their most lopsided victory of the season and their first shutout since 2002. White spent the night tormenting the nation's youngest defense. He ran straight up the middle on draws, turned upfield on option fakes, and took off on passing plays. The Mountaineers forced four turnovers and prevented Cincinnati from getting closer than the West Virginia 37-yard line until the final play of the game.
Pittsburgh
Pat White ran for 220 yards on 23 carries to break the Big East rushing record for a quarterback, leading the No. 11 Mountaineers to a 45–13 victory over Pittsburgh. White ran for two touchdowns and passed for another. The day began with massive snowfall that forced the game to be played on a frozen field with swirling snow flurries and a 7-degree wind chill. West Virginia clinched at least a tie for the Big East title and avenged a 16–13 loss to Pitt the year before in the Backyard Brawl. White broke the conference quarterback rushing record of 210 yards, set by Michael Vick against Boston College in 2000. White also threw for 41 yards. Steve Slaton rushed for 179 yards on 34 carries to help the Mountaineers finish with 451 total yards on the ground. Slaton ran for two TDs and caught a scoring pass.
At South Florida
Pat White ran for 177 yards and two touchdowns, leading West Virginia to a 28–13 victory over South Florida in the 11th-ranked Mountaineers' final tuneup for a Bowl Championship Series appearance.