B o w l NOTES fense and No. 15 in pass efficiency defense. WVU gave up 200 or less yards passing in six games and less than 250 yards in 11 games.
Interceptions
West Virginia finished with 12 interceptions for the season, tying for fourth in the BIG EAST and No. 48 nationally. The Mountaineer defense collected a season-high three at Maryland and against Bowling Green, two at Rutgers and one against Louisville, at Cincinnati, against Pitt and at USF. Tandy led the Mountaineers with three picks, while Garvin, Jenkins and Cook each have two picks and Najee Goode, Pat Miller and Eain Smith each finished with one. Darwin Cook collected a pick against Pitt, totaling two for the season. At Rutgers, Jenkins received his first career start and finished with the first two interceptions of his career. Tandy finished with two picks against Bowling Green and had one at Cincinnati, and Terence Garvin had his second swipe of the year against Bowling Green. Garvin returned his first career interception at Maryland 37 yards for a touchdown, and Miller returned his first career interception 52 yards for a touchdown at USF. Tandy now has 12 interceptions for his career and is in ninth place on WVU’s all-time list.
For the season, the red zone scores are 34 touchdowns, including 20 rushing touchdowns and 14 passing touchdowns and 13 field goals. Defensively, WVU’s opponents have scored 39-of-46 times (84.8 percent) in the red zone, including 27 touchdowns and 12 field goals. The seven failed attempts are two missed field goals, two fumbles and three drives that ended on downs. Opponents have scored touchdowns on 27-of-46 trips to the red zone (58.7 percent).
Total Defense
The West Virginia defense gave up an average of 340.3 yards per games in total offense this season, 140.8 via the run and 199.6 through the air. The Mountaineers are No. 3 in the BIG EAST in total defense and No. 27 nationally. WVU surrendered less than 300 yards in five games and less than 400 yards in nine games. The Mountaineers gave up a season-low 187 yards against Marshall and 217 yards against Bowling Green.
One of Six
West Virginia averaged 459.6 yards per game of total offense in 2011, ranking No. 1 in the BIG EAST and No. 17 nationally. The Mountaineer defense gave up 340.3 yards per game, ranking No. 3 in the BIG EAST and No. 27 nationally. West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas State, Boise State, Stanford and Wisconsin are the only schools in the country to rank in the Top 30 nationally in both total offense and total defense. School Off. Ypg Rank Def. Ypg Rank Alabama 433.4 30 191.3 1 453.4 25 325.7 20 Arkansas State Boise State 483.1 9 315.6 16 Stanford 480.9 11 331.4 25 459.6 17 350.4 27 West Virginia Wisconsin 466.9 15 293.0
Mountaineer Football
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Tackles For Loss
The Mountaineer defense made 75 tackles in its opponents’ backfield in 2011, averaging 6.3 tackles for loss per game. WVU had a season-high 13 backfield stops against Pitt, had nine against Louisville, eight against Norfolk State and seven against UConn, Marshall and at Cincinnati. For the season, Bruce Irvin led the defense with 14 tackles for loss, Najee Goode had 12.5 tackles for loss and Julian Miller had 11.
Pass Defense
The West Virginia defense gave up 199.6 yards per game through the air this season. The Mountaineers were No. 2 in the BIG EAST in both pass defense and pass efficiency defense and nationally were No. 32 in pass de-
BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Year
Tavon Austin is a versatile member of the Mountaineer football squad as an inside receiver and punt and kick returner. He finished with two kickoff returns for touchdowns this season, collecting a 100yard return against Marshall in the season opener and a 90-yard return in the season finale at USF. His season-long punt return was 64 yards against Norfolk State. Austin is No. 2 nationally in all-purpose yards, totaling a single-season school record 2,294 yards and averaging 191.2 yards per game. He is No. 5 in punt returns (14.1) and No. 18 in kickoff returns (26.5). He had five all-purpose performances of 200 yards or more, including a season-high 287 yards against LSU, 271 against Louisville, 249 at Cincinnati, 243 at Maryland and 208 at USF. He also finished with 150 yards or more in all-purpose yardage in nine games. He had a career-high 287 all-purpose yards against LSU, finishing with 187 yards receiving on 11 catches and 100 kickoff return yards on six returns. That marked the most all-purpose yards since Steve Slaton had 345 all-purpose yards against Pitt in 2006.
Mountaineer Returns
West Virginia has shown vast improvement in both its kickoff and punt return units this season.
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