2016 CACTUS BOWL NOTES
THE LAST TIME AGAINST ARIZONA STATE Arizona State......................................... 42 West Virginia............................................ 7 TEMPE, Ariz. (November 17, 1979) -- Arizona State, in the face of controversy, roared past West Virginia, 42-7, in the final game of the 1979 season for the Mountaineers.
MOTEL 6 CACTUS BOWL: WEST VIRGINIA VS. ARIZONA STATE SATURDAY, JAN. 2, 2016 | 10:15 PM ET TOP TEN IN GRADUATES
• WVU has 17 players who have graduated and are set to play in the Cactus Bowl, tying for 10th nationally for the number of graduates playing in this year’s bowl games
NOTES TO REMEMBER
• Since 2000, WVU is 100-13 when scoring 30 or more points in a contest/51-4 when scoring 40 or more points in a game • In the Dana Holgorsen era, WVU has produced 59 games with 300 or more yards of total offense, 44 games with 400 or more yards of total offense, 22 games with more than 500 yards and 10 with more than 600 yards • In the Holgorsen era, WVU has scored 30 or more points in 43 games, 40 or more points in 22 games, 50 or more points in seven games and 60 or more points three times • WVU is No. 2 nationally in passes intercepted (23) and turnovers gained (31), No. 11 in turnover margin and No. 13 in defensive three and-outs • The Mountaineer defense is ranked No. 15 nationally in third-down defense, No. 21 in tackles for loss (7.3), No. 24 in pass efficiency defense • WVU’s offense is nationally ranked in rushing offense (16), total offense (28), first down offense (21), passing yards per completion (35) and scoring offense (41) and No. 9 in kickoff returns (25.6) • WVU is 75-11 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle • WVU’s defense didn’t give up a touchdown in three games this season and gave up fewer than 400 yards of total offense in eight games • WVU pitched its first Big 12 shutout at Kansas; its second in 2015; the first time since 1996 the Mountaineers had two shutouts in the same year • WVU has 23 INTs in 2015, No. 3 for most in a season; needs one to tie school record a • Skyler Howard is ranked No. 28 nationally in points responsible for, No. 29 in points repsonsible for per game, passing yards per completion and passing touchdowns and No. 35 in total offense • Wendell Smallwood is No. 13 nationally in rushing yards, No. 14 in rushing yards per game, No. 17 in rushing yards per carry and No. 20 in all-purpose yards • Shelton Gibson ranks No. 2 nationally in yards per reception, No. 28 in receiving touchdowns and ranks No. 10 in kickoff return touchdowns • Nick O’Toole is No. 6 nationally in punting avg. • Daryl Worley is No. 8 nationally in interceptions per game (6), No. 11 in passes defended with six interceptions and No. in 12 pass breakups.
THE 2015 MOUNTAINEER ROSTER
• The 2015 roster currently consists of 107 players from 16 different states and one from the District of Columbia (DaeJuan Funderburk).
12
• Leading the way is West Virginia (23), followed by Florida (20), Ohio (18), Pennsylvania (11), Texas (5), Georgia (5), New Jersey (5), Maryland (4), North Carolina (3), Virginia (3), Delaware (2), Mississippi (2), New York (2) California, Illinois and Tennessee.
AGAINST THE PAC-12
• WVU is 2-11 all-time against the Pac-12 Conference. WVU is 0-1 vs. Arizona State, 1-2 against Cal, 1-1 vs. Colorado, 0-2 vs. Oregon, 0-2 vs. Oregon State, 0-1 against USC, 0-1 vs. Stanford and 0-1 vs. Utah. • West Virginia last played a team from the current configuration of the Pac-12 back in the 2009 season, coming away with a 35-21 victory over Colorado in Morgantown. However, the Buffaloes were a member of the Big 12 back in 2009. • You have to go back to Nov. 17, 1979, to find West Virginia’s last contest against a team that was a Pac-12 member at the time of the game, which was a 42-7 loss at Arizona State.
ON GRASS
• Since 1980, West Virginia is 49-59 in games played on natural grass. The Mountaineers are 8-6 this decade and 7-4 under Holgorsen.
IN BOWLS
• West Virginia holds a 14-19 all-time record in bowl games, dating back to the 1922 East-West Game. The 2016 Motel 6 Cactus Bowl will be WVU’s 34th bowl appearance. • West Virginia went to a school-record 11straight bowl games (2002-12) until the streak was snapped in 2013. The Motel 6 Cactus Bowl will mark West Virginia’s second straight bowl appearance and fourth in five years under Dana Holgorsen.
AGAINST THE PAC-12 IN BOWL GAMES
• West Virginia is 0-1 in bowl games against the current team configuration of the Pac-12 Conference, dropping a 32-6 decision to Utah in the 1964 Liberty Bowl. However, Utah was not part of the Pac-12 Conference when the game was played in Atlantic City.
BOWL GAMES IN ARIZONA
• This will be West Virginia’s fourth bowl game in the state of Arizona, and the Mountaineers own a 1-2 bowl record in the Grand Canyon State. WVU dropped a 34-21 contest to Notre Dame in the 1989 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl and a 34-31 decision to Missouri in the 1998 Insight.com Bowl played in Tucson. West Virginia’s win came in the 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl at the University of Phoenix Stadium,with a 48-28 upset of No. 3 Oklahoma.
After a brief first-quarter flurry by West Virginia, the game belonged to the Sun Devils as quarterback Mark Malone passed for 239 yards and two touchdowns and Robert Weathers and Gerald Riggs put on an outstanding running show. Weathers rushed for 137 yards, and Riggs had 75 yards and two touchdowns. For the Mountaineers, the lone bright spot was the play of Robert Alexander, who gained 137 yards on 17 carries. He had a 60-yard burst to set up Dane Conwell’s one-yard touchdown that gave the Mountaineers a short-lived 7-0 edge. After falling behind, Arizona State wasted no time in running up a 28-7 halftime advantage. The touchdowns came on a one-yard run by Riggs, a six-yard effort by Weathers, a 15-yard pass from Malone to Weathers and a seven-yard pass from Malone to John Mistler. The Sun Devils added additional scores in each of the remaining quarters as Riggs tallied an eightyard run and reserve quarterback Mike Pagel hit Ron Wetzel with a five-yard touchdown pass.
SCORING SUMMARY West Virginia Arizona State
7 0 14 14
0 7
0 7 7 42
1st
WVU ASU ASU
Conwell 1 run (Sinclair Kick) Riggs 1 run (Peterson kick) Weathers 6 run (Peterson kick)
2nd
ASU ASU
Weathers 15 pass from Malone (Peterson kick) Mistler 7 pass from Malone (Peterson kick)
3rd
ASU
Riggs 8 run (Peterson kick)
4th
ASU
Wetzel 5 pass from Pagel (Peterson kick)
Attendance: 68,573 WVU ASU First Downs 18 31 Yards Rushing 52/217 46/270 Passing Yardage 61 280 Total Offense 76/278 81/550 Passes 6/24/2 20/35/0 Punts 5/40.2 1/45.0 Fumbles/Lost 2/0 0/0 Return Yardage 130 98 Penalties/Yards 2/14 4/39 RUSHING WVU: Alexander 17-137; Conwell 14-64; Beck 4-12; ASU: Weathers 19-130-1; Riggs 14-75-2 PASSING WVU: Luck 5-20-1-55-0; Banda 1-4-1-6 ASU: Malone 16-24-0-239-2; Pagel 4-11-0-41-1 RECEIVING WVU: Miller 4-61, Raugh 1-6; Alexander 1(-6) ASU: Henry 4-69; Riggs 4-64; Mistler 5-62-1