B o w l NOTES • Since 2002, WVU is 52-4 when it has held an opponent under 100 yards rushing. • WVU quarterback Geno Smith has 314-of483 for 3,978 yards, all WVU single-season records. • Smith is No. 2 on passing chart (7,050) and No. 5 on WVU’s career total offense chart (7,215). • Smith is No. 2 on WVU’s career completion list (587) and No. 3 on the touchdown list (50). • WVU is one of three schools in the nation to post two 1,000-yard receivers. • WVU receiver Stedman Bailey set the school single-season receiving yards mark (1,197). • WVU receiver Tavon Austin set the school single-season reception mark (89). • Austin set the school’s single-season allpurpose yardage mark (2,294). • WVU DL Julian Miller is No. 2 on WVU’s career tackles for loss (42.5) and sacks (27.5) lists. • WVU DE Bruce Irvin is No. 5 on WVU’s career sacks list (21.5)
First Year BCS Head Coaches
With West Virginia winning the three-way tie for the 2011 BIG EAST Conference championship with Louisville and Cincinnati, it earned its third BCS bowl appearance and first for coach Dana Holgorsen. He becomes one of seven coaches to earn a BCS bowl bid in his first year as a head coach. Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia - 2012 Orange Bowl David Shaw, Stanford – 2012 Fiesta Bowl Chip Kelly, Oregon – 2009 Rose Bowl Chris Petersen, Boise State – 2006 Fiesta Bowl Charlie Weis, Notre Dame – 2005 Fiesta Bowl Ralph Friedgen, Maryland – 2002 Orange Bowl Larry Coker, Miami – 2001 Rose Bowl
No Stranger to Bowl Games This marks the first bowl game
that Dana Holgorsen has coached in as a head coach and first at West Virginia. However, he is not a stranger to bowl games, as the Discover Orange Bowl marks his 12th straight bowl game he has coached in - one at Oklahoma State, two at Houston and eight at Texas Tech. In the 11 previous bowl games, the schools in which he has coached have posted a 7-4 record.
Year School Bowl Game/Opponent/Result Orange Bowl/Clemson 2011 West Virginia Alamo/Arizona/W 2010 Oklahoma State 2009 Houston Armed Forces/Air Force/L 2008 Houston Armed Forces/Air Force/W 2007 Texas Tech Gator Bowl/Virginia/W Insight.com/Minnesota/W 2006 Texas Tech Cotton/Alabama/L 2005 Texas Tech 2004 Texas Tech Holiday/Cal/W Houston/Navy/W 2003 Texas Tech
Mountaineer Football
2002 2001 2000
Texas Tech Texas Tech Texas Tech
Tangerine/Clemson/W Alamo/Iowa/L Houston/East Carolina/L
Coaching Staff Assignments
Here’s a breakdown of the WVU coaching staff assignments for the 2011 season:
• Jeff Casteel: Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers (Field) • Bill Bedenbaugh: Offensive Line (Field) • Shannon Dawson: Inside Receivers (Press Box) • Steve Dunlap: Safeties, Special Teams - Defense (Press Box) • Robert Gillespie: Running Backs (Field) • Bill Kirelawich: Defensive Line (Press Box) • David Lockwood: Cornerbacks (Field) • Daron Roberts: Wide Receivers, Special Teams - Returns (Field) • Jake Spavital: Quarterbacks (Press Box)
The Series with Clemson This marks the second meeting
between West Virginia and Clemson. The Tigers won the only meeting in the 1989 Mazda Gator Bowl, 27-7. The Mountaineers hold a 3-11 record against the Atlantic Coast Conference in bowl games and a 97-97-5 record all-time against schools from the ACC.
Last Meeting with Clemson 1989 Mazda Gator Bowl
December 30 – Jacksonville, Fla.
Clemson’s ball control offense chewed up 80 yards on 17 plays. The drive ended with a Wesley McFadden one-yard sweep, providing the 10-7 halftime score. The third quarter saw both team’s defenses dominate as neither team was able to sustain a long drive. West Virginia cornerback Preston Waters thwarted a Clemson drive with an interception, while Clemson free safety Robert O’Neal returned the favor on a Harris end zone pass. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Clemson put the game on ice, when tailback Joe Henderson outran the Mountaineer left side for a four-yard touchdown with 11:43 remaining. Harris scrambled in the end zone, desperate to make something happen with only eight minutes remaining, but was stripped of the football by Chester McGlockton who fell on the ball for the final touchdown. The Tiger defense allowed West Virginia only 237 yards of total offense. Linebackers Doug Brewster, John Johnson and Ed McDaniel made Harris’ final collegiate game a disappointing memory. He finished the game with only 119 yards passing and 17 yards rushing. A bright spot for the Mountaineers was the play of defensive tackle Mike Fox (seven tackles) who was named the game’s defensive MVP for his outstanding play along the line of scrimmage. Linebacker Chris Haering was credited with 14 tackles, while safety Darrell Whitmore had nine.
Scoring Summary West Virginia Clemson 1st WV 2nd CL CL 4th CL CL CL
1 2 3 4 T o t a l 7 0 0 0 7 0 10 0 17 27
Jett 12 pass from Harris (Carroll kick) Gardocki 27 field goal McFadden 1 run (Gardocki kick) Henderson 4 run (Gardocki kick) Chester McGlockton fumble recov ery in end zone (Gardocki kick) Gardocki 24 field goal
West Virginia 7 Clemson 27
Attendance: 82,911
Jacksonville, Fla. -- The Mountaineers drew
In New Year’s Bowls
first blood, but the Tigers roared back en route to a 27-7 Clemson victory at the 45th annual Mazda Gator Bowl. In West Virginia’s first possession, HeismanTrophy finalist Major Harris did a splendid job of mixing the run with the pass, marching the Mountaineers down the field on the confused Tiger defense. In all, West Virginia piled up 96 yards on 14 plays, culminating the drive on a Harris to James Jett 12-yard touchdown pass with 6:12 remaining in the first quarter. For the Mountaineer faithful, however, little remained to cheer for on the evening. After a scoreless first quarter for Clemson, Chris Gardocki opened the second quarter with a 27-yard field goal. After a West Virginia punt,
With its appearance in the 2012 Discover Orange Bowl on Jan. 4, West Virginia will have played in New Year’s bowl games in seven of the past nine years. Those games include the 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2010 Gator Bowls, 2006 Sugar Bowl and the 2008 Fiesta Bowl. The two times that WVU didn’t play in a New Year’s bowl game during that stretch were in 2008 when it played in the Meineke Car Care Bowl and 2010 when it played in the Champs Sports Bowl. Only three other teams can make the same claim as WVU - Florida, Ohio State and LSU.
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