2014 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

The 2014 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Playing as a member of the Big 12 Conference (Big 12), the team was led by head coach Dana Holgorsen, in his fourth year. West Virginia played its home games at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season 7–6, 5–4 in Big 12 play to finish in a three way tie for fourth place. They were invited to the Liberty Bowl where they lost to Texas A&M.

2014 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Liberty Bowl, L 37–45 vs. Texas A&M
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Record7–6 (5–4 Big 12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorShannon Dawson (3rd season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorTony Gibson (1st season)
Base defense3–3–5
Home stadiumMountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium
Seasons
← 2013
2015 →
2014 Big 12 Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 7 Baylor + 81  112 
No. 3 TCU + 81  121 
No. 18 Kansas State 72  94 
Oklahoma 54  85 
West Virginia 54  76 
Texas 54  67 
Oklahoma State 45  76 
Texas Tech 27  48 
Kansas 18  39 
Iowa State 09  210 
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

Coaching staff

2014 Coaching Staff

[1]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 303:30 p.m.vs. No. 2 Alabama*ABCL 23–3370,502
September 67:30 p.m.No. 22 (FCS) Towson*RTPTW 54–056,414
September 13Noonat Maryland*BTNW 40–3748,154
September 207:30 p.m.No. 4 Oklahoma
FOXL 33–4561,908
October 44:00 p.m.Kansas
FSNW 33–1452,164
October 11Noonat Texas TechFS1W 37–3458,502
October 18NoonNo. 4 Baylor
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
FS1W 41–2760,758
October 253:30 p.m.at Oklahoma StateNo. 22ESPNW 34–1059,124
November 13:30 p.m.No. 7 TCUNo. 20
ABCL 30–3161,190
November 83:30 p.m.at TexasNo. 23FS1L 16–3395,714
November 207:00 p.m.No. 12 Kansas State
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
FS1L 20–2647,683
November 29Noonat Iowa StateFS1W 37–2450,059
December 292:00 p.m.vs. Texas A&M*ESPNL 37–4551,282
  • Schedule sources:[2]

Game summaries

Alabama

1234Total
Mountaineers3143323
#2 Crimson Tide31710333

Led by Clint Trickett's 511 passing yards, West Virginia gave away a 22-point lead before Josh Lambert kicked a game winning 47-yard field goal to give West Virginia a 40-37 win over rival Maryland. Clint Trickett threw for 4 touchdowns in the win and Mario Alford was on the receiving end of two of those touchdowns. Kevin White had his best game of the season with 13 catches for 216 yards and a touchdown. West Virginia’s defense held the Terrapins to 4 of 15 on third downs and forced an interception. This win erased the bad memory for the Mountaineers of the 37-0 blowout in the 2013 installment of this rivalry.

Attendance- 48,154Byrd Stadium • College Park, MD

Oklahoma

1234Total
#4 Sooners32114745
Mountaineers7173633

Samaje Perine rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 4 Oklahoma to a 45-33 win in Morgantown over West Virginia. "They made good adjustments at halftime. They made a bunch of plays in the second half when the game was on the line" said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. Clint Trickett threw for 376 yards and two touchdowns for West Virginia, but he was intercepted twice and lost a fumble. His main target in the loss was senior receiver Kevin White who had 10 receptions for 173 yards and a touchdown.

Attendance- 61,908Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV

Kansas

1234Total
Jayhawks007714
Mountaineers16107033

Led by Clint Tricketts 302 passing yards and Mario Alford’s 94 yard kickoff return for a touchdown the Mountaineers beat Kansas 33-14. Rushel Shell ran for a season high 113 yards and a touchdown and Kevin White had 6 catches for 132 yards. West Virginia put up 557 yards of offense while the special teams played a very inconsistent game. After the Mountaineers' Jordan Thompson fumbled a punt on his 18 that led to a short touchdown run by the Jayhawks' Corey Avery, Alford took the ensuing kickoff into the endzone for a score to put West Virginia ahead 33-7 late in the third quarter.

Attendance- 52,164Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV

Texas Tech

1234Total
Mountaineers37101737
Red Raiders1476734

Sophomore Josh Lambert kicked a career-long 55-yard field goal at the end of the game to lead West Virginia to a 37-34 win over Texas Tech. The Red Raiders built an eleven point lead and carried that into halftime before being outscored 27 to 13 in the second half with the Mountaineers rallying from 14 points down in the fourth quarter. Clint Trickett was held to a season-low 301 yards but still completed 28 of 44 passes and had two touchdowns. Rushel Shell added two touchdowns, including the game tying one yard touchdown run late in the game. This was West Virginia’s first win against Texas Tech since joining the Big 12 conference 3 years ago.

Attendance- 58, 502 Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, TX

Baylor

1234Total
#4 Bears1377027
Mountaineers71731441

When West Virginia needed another late push to pull out a win, Clint Trickett and Kevin White fought through the rain, turnovers, and the Bears defense to beat fourth-ranked Baylor. Trickett threw two of his three touchdowns in the fourth quarter as West Virginia knocked off Baylor in Morgantown. It was the third top-5 opponent West Virginia faced that season after previously losing to No. 2 Alabama and No. 4 Oklahoma. Trickett was 23-of-35 for 322 yards against Baylor, his eighth straight 300-yard game dating back to the 2013 season. Senior receiver Kevin White had eight receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns. The WVU defense, coached by Tony Gibson, held the Bears to seven second-half points and 318 total yards in the game.

Attendance- 60,758Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV

Oklahoma State

1234Total
#22 Mountaineers14031734
Cowboys0100010

TCU

1234Total
#10 Horned Frogs70141031
#20 Mountaineers13014330

ESPN's College Gameday made its second trip to Morgantown in its history.

Texas

1234Total
#24 Mountaineers3001316
Longhorns7170933

Kansas State

1234Total
#12 Wildcats7106326
Mountaineers0371020

Iowa State

1234Total
Mountaineers72001037
Cyclones1473024

Texas A&M–Liberty Bowl

1234Total
Aggies141417045
Mountaineers2073737

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
APRVRVRVRVRVRVRV222024RVRVRVRVRV
CoachesRVRVRVRVRVRVRV252225RV
CFPNot released2023Not released

References