GET TO KNOW THE MOUNTAINEERS
2021 record: 6-7 (4-5)
Big 12 Standings: Fifth (Tie)
Best wins: Iowa State (7-6, FEI/SP+ No. 16), Texas (5-7, FEI/SP+ No. 40), Virginia Tech (6-7, FEI/SP+ No. 72), TCU (5-7, FEI/SP+ No. 83)
Notable losses: They lost 18-6 to Minnesota (9-4) in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, 16-13 to Oklahoma and 23-20 to Texas Tech.
Head Coach: Neal Brown. He enters his fourth season in Morgantown with a 17-18 record, while being 11-15 in the Big 12 with two bowl appearances. Brown was previously the head coach at Troy, where he compiled a 35-16 record over four seasons with three bowl wins. Before that, he was the offensive coordinator for both Kentucky and Texas Tech.
THE NUMBERS
The Mountaineers finished 2021 by ranking No. 70 in the final FEI/SP+ tabulations, which accounted for being No. 73 on offense, No. 44 on defense and No. 114 on special teams. They won four of their final six Big 12 games to earn a bowl bid.
Their defense was solid. It ranked No. 37 in total yards allowed (350.1 yards per game), No. 65 in success rate allowed (42.4 percent), No. 45 in scoring defense (23.8 points per game) and No. 66 in points per drive allowed (2.21).
West Virginia’s rush defense finished No. 42 in yards allowed (138.5 yards per game) and No. 53 inrushing success rate allowed (42.2 percent). For passing yards, the Mountaineers finished No. 39 (211.5 yards per game), No. 78 in pass efficiency defense and No. 81 in pass success rate allowed.
Third down defense ranked No. 29 (34.7 percent), red zone defense finished No. 5 (70.0 percent) and they finished No. 16 in points per drive allowed inside their 40 (3.18). The Mountaineers also finished at No. 88 in havoc rate (16.2 percent).
The offense finished No. 88 in total yards (371.3 yards per game), No. 62 in success rate (43.2 percent), No. 88 in scoring offense (25.2 points per game) and No. 78 in points per drive (2.02).
They were No. 56 in passing yards (247.9 yards per game), No. 73 in passing efficiency and No. 68 in passing success rate. The rush offense was No. 102 in yards (123.4 yards per game) and No. 52 in rushing success rate (45.3 percent). They ran only 44.7 percent of the time.
West Virginia was No. 68 in third down conversions (39.8 percent), No. 18 in red zone conversions (90.0 percent) and No. 39 in points per drive inside the opponents’ 40 (4.19).
The special teams was led by a field goal efficiency that ranked No. 45 in America, but they were poor at…
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