2010 Record: 9-4 (5-2), Tied 1st Big East2010 Bowl Game: Champs Sports Bowl, Lost to NC State 23-7
2010 Schedule/Results
Coastal Carolina, W 31-0
@ Marshall, W 24-21
Maryland, W 31-17
@ LSU, L 20-14
UNLV, W 49-10
South Florida, W 20-6
Syracuse, L 19-14
@ UConn, L 16-13
Cincinnati, W 37-10
@ Louisville, W 17-10
@ Pittsburgh, W 35-10
Rutgers, W 35-14
NC State, L 23-7
REVIEW
WVU won 9 games for the third straight season, and as a reward, Bill Stewart was told that 2011 would be his final season as coach of the Mountaineers, and even better, his replacement would be forced on him as his OC this year as well! Well hell yes, that's what I call a real kick in the nuts.
There was always a force in Morgantown that said that Stewart was a great guy and all, but WVU could only get so far with him at the helm, and I guess being stuck at 9 wins is not enough for most.
Stewart, as far as I am concerned, did well with what he had. Geno Smith was his third QB and he played very nicely this season, posting 2763 yards on the year with 24 TDs to just 7 picks. That's much better than anyone could have expected from Smith as a sophomore, and it should get better this season, unless he cannot grasp Dana Holgorson's new offense.
Noel Devine was obviously hurt on and off all season, but he really regressed as a senior compared to what was expected. What was not expected was that Devine would never reach 1000 yards on the season and he only hit 936. People expected double digit TDs, and only got 6. The run game as a whole never really did the job, and so WVU failed to win the conference mainly because of it.
Tavon Anderson and Jock Sanders did have big seasons as receivers, with Anderson catching 58 passes for 787 yards and 8 scores, and Sanders collecting 69 grabs for 728 yards and 4 scores. 7 different MOuntaineers caught TD passes on the season.
WVU was a beast on defense. Teams did not run on the Mountaineers, averaging only 85.1 yards per game on the ground. JT Thomas, Terence Garvin, and Anthony Leonard all had 70+ tackles on the season.
Bruce Irvin and Julian Miller were forces up front, with each player picking up 14 TFLs on the year, with Irvin collecting 14 sacks. Miller added an additional 9 sacks during his frequent visits behind enemy lines.
One member of the secondary that you never wanted to throw at was Keith Tandy, who led the team with 11 passes broken up on the season. He picked off 6 passes on the season, while Brandon Hogan picked 3 more. WVU picked off 12 passes as a team, while only tossing 8.
An area of concern, outside of the faulty run game, is at PK, where Tyler Bitancourt was fairly unreliable in 2010. Bitancourt was only a sophomore, but only managed to connect on 10 of 17 FG attempts on the season. Hard work will be done in the spring to shore up the issue. Gregg Pugnetti was solid on punts, having averaged 41.82 yards per punt in 2010, but he needs to be replaced now as he moves on.
FINAL NOTES
Bill Stewart is a fool for not walking away from WVU now, rather than being subjected to training his eventual replacement for 2012. Stewart had no intention of walking away on his own after this season, and so rather than save his dignity, he'll hang to show loyalty to a program that is essentially crapping on his head and forcing him out of the job he loves.
Stewart held the ship together after Rich Rodriguez left Morgantown in the dust on the way to Ann Arbor. Rodriguez was a West Virginia man who showed no loyalty to WVU when they needed him. They got nothing but loyalty out of Stewart, and they crap on him. They deserve what they get at this point, and expect lots of tension, and a resulting slide in 2011, as the players won't know who the coach is. See Florida State circa 2009.
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