West Virginia
West Virginia is 5-4 and No. 59 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 1.9 points better than an average FBS team. Last game: lost 53-48 at Texas Tech in Week 10.
Week 11: vs Kansas, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit
Why West Virginia is No. 59
- West Virginia's rating is 1.9: the machine's estimate that West Virginia is 1.9 points better than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 59 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at 0.2, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it up 1.7.
- The biggest weekly moves: +4.1 after Week 3 (W 38-27 vs Virginia) and −2.3 after Week 4 (L 24-41 vs Oklahoma State).
- Its record is 5-4. The 4 losses were to No. 21 Texas Tech, No. 24 Oklahoma State, No. 26 Arizona, No. 50 Iowa State, by 11.5 points on average. The 5 wins came by 14.0 points on average; the best was over No. 43 TCU. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 48 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 58 Michigan State (1.9); just below is No. 60 Syracuse (1.9).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
Rich Rodriguez is in his 9th season at West Virginia (since 2001). This season: 5-4. At West Virginia overall: 69-38, counting this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 104-180 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 1955 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 13-2 |
| Yards per attempt* | 10.8No. 1 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 20.1%No. 1 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 7.7%No. 115 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 493-2372 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 4.8No. 46 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 13.6%No. 77 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 15.5%No. 45 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 37.2No. 17 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 6.52No. 26 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 47.8%No. 19 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 69.0%No. 33 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 8No. 34 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 34.6No. 131 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 7.25No. 137 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 10.1No. 137 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 4.7No. 109 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 5.6%No. 77 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 10No. 91 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 42.1%No. 110 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- Michael Hawkins Jr.101-175, 1901 yds, 12 TD, 2 INT
Rushing
- Cam Cook209 carries, 1072 yds, 8 TD
- Michael Hawkins Jr.182 carries, 924 yds, 19 TD
- Amari Latimer55 carries, 214 yds, 4 TD
Receiving
- DJ Epps23 catches, 564 yds, 5 TD
- Prince Strachan17 catches, 345 yds, 0 TD
- Jaden Bray12 catches, 174 yds, 0 TD
Tackles
- Isaiah Patterson56
- Ben Cutter44
- Geimere Latimer42
Sacks
- Nate Gabriel3
- Ashton Woods2
- Ezekiel Durham-Campbell2
Interceptions
- Ashton Woods1
- Chams Diagne1
- David Afogho1
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- Michael Hawkins Jr.Most passes in the last game9 games175 attempts97%
- Scotty Fox Jr.1 game4 attempts2%
Carrying
- Cam Cook9 games209 carries69%
- Amari Latimer8 games55 carries18%
- Martavious Boswell1 game8 carries3%
- DJ Epps6 games7 carries2%
Catching
- DJ Epps7 games23 catches22%
- Prince Strachan6 games17 catches16%
- Cam Cook8 games13 catches12%
- Jaden Bray6 games12 catches12%
Tackling
- Isaiah Patterson9 games56 tackles9%
- Ben Cutter9 games44 tackles7%
- Geimere Latimer8 games42 tackles7%
- Andrew Powdrell9 games41 tackles7%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 W 31–24 vs Coastal Carolina. The pass defense gave ground: Coastal Carolina got 9.7 yards an attempt, 2.4 over what it usually gains. The fewest yards a carry it has allowed all season.
- Week 2 W 52–7 vs UT Martin. UT Martin is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against.
- Week 3 W 38–27 vs Virginia (neutral site). The passing game was the strength: 11.2 yards an attempt, 4.3 more than Virginia usually allows. The fewest yards an attempt it has allowed all season.
- Week 4 L 24–41 vs Oklahoma State. The pass defense gave ground: Oklahoma State got 15.0 yards an attempt, 6.4 over what it usually gains. The machine had West Virginia by 1.8 (55%), so this was a loss it did not see coming.
- Week 5 L 42–45 at Iowa State. The pass defense gave ground: Iowa State got 10.8 yards an attempt, 4.4 over what it usually gains. Its most yards a carry of the season.
- Week 6 L 31–52 vs Arizona. The pass defense gave ground: Arizona got 14.2 yards an attempt, 5.6 over what it usually gains.
- Week 7 W 45–42 vs Cincinnati. The passing game was the strength: 14.1 yards an attempt, 6.6 more than Cincinnati usually allows. Its fewest yards a carry of the season.
- Week 8 W 24–20 at TCU. The passing game struggled: 5.3 yards an attempt, 1.2 less than TCU usually allows. The machine had TCU by 11.8 (77%), so this was a win it did not see coming; West Virginia won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 10 L 48–53 at Texas Tech. The passing game was the strength: 18.9 yards an attempt, 11.6 more than Texas Tech usually allows. Its most yards an attempt of the season.