2023 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

2023 West Virginia Mountaineers football
2023 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Duke’s Mayo Bowl champion
Duke's Mayo Bowl, W 30–10 vs. North Carolina
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 25
Record	9–4 (6–3 Big 12)
Head coach	Neal Brown (5th season);
Offensive coordinator	Chad Scott (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread Option
Defensive coordinator	Jordan Lesley (4th season)
Co-defensive coordinator	ShaDon Brown (3rd season)
Base defense	Multiple
Home stadium	Milan Puskar Stadium
	Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Big 12 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 3 Texas y$^	8	–	1	12	–	2
No. 16 Oklahoma State y	7	–	2	10	–	4
No. 15 Oklahoma	7	–	2	10	–	3
Iowa State	6	–	3	7	–	6
No. 18 Kansas State	6	–	3	9	–	4
West Virginia	6	–	3	9	–	4
Texas Tech	5	–	4	7	–	6
No. 23 Kansas	5	–	4	9	–	4
UCF	3	–	6	6	–	7
TCU	3	–	6	5	–	7
Houston	2	–	7	4	–	8
BYU	2	–	7	5	–	7
Baylor	2	–	7	3	–	9
Cincinnati	1	–	8	3	–	9
Championship: Texas 49, Oklahoma State 21
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University as a member of the Big 12 Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mountaineers were led by fifth-year head coach Neal Brown and played their home games at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Offseason

Transfers

Outgoing

Player	Position	Destination
Mumu Bin-Wahad	CB	UConn
Charles Woods	CB	SMU
Mike O'Laughlin	TE	Houston
Naim Muhammad	CB	Kent State
Reese Smith	WR	Liberty
Will Crowder	QB	Troy
Saint McLeod	S	Unknown
Corbin Page	TE	Unknown
Tyrin Woodby	CB	Unknown
JT Daniels	QB	Rice
Jordan White	IOL	Liberty
Kaden Prather	WR	Maryland
Taurus Simmons	EDGE	Withdrawn
Jordan Jefferson	DL	LSU
Chris Mayo	IOL	Eastern Michigan
Taijh Alston	EDGE	Colorado
Lanell Carr	LB	Indiana
Jaylon Shelton	CB	Texas State
Dylan Ray	IOL	Kentucky
Aric Burton	DE	Unknown
Caleb Coleman	CB	Texas State
Tony Mathis	RB	Houston

Incoming

Player	Position	Previous school
Noah Massey	WR	Angelo State
Tyrin Bradley	DL	Abilene Christian
EJ Horton	WR	Marshall
Tomiwa Durojaiye	DL	Kentucky
Anthony Wilson	S	Georgia Southern
Beanie Bishop	CB	Minnesota
Davoan Hawkins	DL	Tennessee State
Fatorma Mulbah	DL	Penn State
Michael Hayes	K	Georgia State
Keyshawn Cobb	S	Buffalo
Ja'Shaun Poke	WR	Kent State
Devin Carter	WR	NC State
Kole Taylor	TE	LSU
Montre Miller	CB	Kent State
Ak'Bar Shabazz II	CB	Pittsburgh

^[2]^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:30 p.m.	at No. 7 Penn State*	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	NBC	L 15–38	110,747
September 9	6:00 p.m.	Duquesne*	Milan Puskar Stadium Morgantown, WV	ESPN+	W 56–17	50,037
September 16	7:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh*	Milan Puskar Stadium Morgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl)	ABC	W 17–6	61,106
September 23	3:30 p.m.	Texas Tech	Milan Puskar Stadium Morgantown, WV (Gold Rush)	ESPN+	W 20–13	50,071
September 30	8:00 p.m.	at TCU	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	ESPN2	W 24–21	43,736
October 12	7:00 p.m.	at Houston	TDECU Stadium Houston, TX	FS1	L 39–41	32,152
October 21	3:30 p.m.	Oklahoma State	Milan Puskar Stadium Morgantown, WV	ESPN	L 34–48	51,870
October 28	12:00 p.m.	at UCF	FBC Mortgage Stadium Orlando, FL	FS1^[a]	W 41–28	44,136
November 4	7:00 p.m.	BYU	Milan Puskar Stadium Morgantown, WV (True Blue)	FOX	W 37–7	50,266
November 11	7:00 p.m.	at No. 17 Oklahoma	Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	FOX	L 20–59	83,525
November 18	2:30 p.m.	Cincinnati	Milan Puskar Stadium Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	ESPN+	W 42–21	43,588
November 25	7:00 p.m.	at Baylor	McLane Stadium Waco, TX	FS1	W 34–31	36,200
December 27	5:30 p.m.	vs. North Carolina*	Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC (Duke's Mayo Bowl)	ESPN	W 30–10	42,925
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 1) - Released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

^ Partially aired on FOX as a look-in due to lightning delayed OU-Kansas game

^[4]

Game summaries

At No. 7 Penn State

West Virginia Mountaineers at No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Mountaineers	0	7	0	8	15
No. 7 Nittany Lions	7	7	7	17	38

at Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania

Date: September 2
Game time: 7:30 p.m. EDT
Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C), mostly sunny
Game attendance: 110,747
Referee: Mark Kluczynski
TV announcers (NBC): Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge, and Kathryn Tappen
ESPN box score

Game information

First quarter

PSU – KeAndre Lambert-Smith, 72-yard TD pass from Drew Allar, Sander Sahaydak kick, 10:13 (PSU 7–0)

Second quarter

WVU – CJ Donaldson Jr., 1-yard TD run, Michael Hayes kick, 14:14 (TIE 7–7)
PSU – Nicholas Singleton, 2-yard TD run, Sahaydak kick, 9:10 (PSU 14–7)

Third quarter

PSU – Lambert-Smith, 12-yard TD pass from Allar, Alex Felkins kick, 8:36 (PSU 21–7)

Fourth quarter

PSU – Felkins, 25-yard field goal, 14:47 (PSU 24–7)
PSU – Malik McClain, 25-yard TD pass from Allar, Felkins kick, 7:32 (PSU 31–7)
WVU – Garrett Greene, 1-yard TD run, Donaldson pass from Greene for 2-point conversion, 3:34 (PSU 31–15)
PSU – Beau Pribula, 5-yard TD run, Felkins kick, 0:06 (PSU 38–15)

Statistics

Statistics	WVU	PSU
First downs	17	27
Plays–yards	67–308	65–478
Rushes–yards	40–146	35–146
Passing yards	162	332
Passing: comp–att–int	16–27–0	22–30–0
Time of possession	31:16	28:44

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
West Virginia	Passing	Garrett Greene	16/27, 162 yards
	Rushing	CJ Donaldson Jr.	18 carries, 81 yards, TD
	Receiving	Devin Carter	6 receptions, 90 yards
Penn State	Passing	Drew Allar	21/29, 325 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Nicholas Singleton	13 carries, 70 yards, TD
	Receiving	KeAndre Lambert-Smith	4 receptions, 123 yards, 2 TD

Duquesne

Statistics

Pittsburgh

Statistics

Texas Tech

Statistics

At TCU

Statistics

At Houston

Statistics

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State Cowboys at West Virginia Mountaineers – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	10	3	7	28	48
Mountaineers	0	7	17	10	34

at Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia

Date: October 21
Game time: 2:30 pm CDT
Game weather: • Temperature:

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	OKST	WVU
First downs
Total yards
Rushes/yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oklahoma State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
West Virginia	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

At UCF

West Virginia Mountaineers at UCF Knights – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Mountaineers	10	7	7	17	41
Knights	7	7	7	7	28

at FBC Mortgage Stadium, Orlando, FL

Date: October 28
Game time: 12:00 p.m.
Game attendance: 44,136
TV announcers (FS1): Eric Collins, Devin Gardner
Gamecast

Game information

First Quarter

WVU: Garrett Greene 6-yard touchdown run (Michael Hayes kick), 10:57
UCF: Kobe Hudson 34-yard touchdown pass from John Rhys Plumlee (Colton Boomer kick), 7:06
WVU: Michael Hayes 24-yard field goal, 2:01

Second Quarter

WVU: Jahiem White 4-yard touchdown run (Michael Hayes kick), 10:02
UCF: John Rhys Plumlee 8-yard touchdown run (Colton Boomer kick), 5:50

Third Quarter

WVU: Garrett Greene 7-yard touchdown run (Michael Hayes kick), 9:01
UCF: Javon Baker 7-yard touchdown from John Rhys Plumlee (Colton Boomer kick), 5:25

Fourth Quarter

WVU: Garrett Greene 1-yard touchdown run (Michael Hayes kick), 14:12
WVU: C.J. Donaldson 1-yard touchdown run (Michael Hayes kick), 9:25
WVU: Michael Hayes 41-yard field goal, 5:15
UCF: Kobe Hudson 16-yard touchdown pass from John Rhys Plumlee (Colton Boomer kick), 1:46

Win Probability

UCF 70.7%

Line

UCF -7

Over/Under

57.5

Statistics	WVU	UCF
First downs	25	27
Total yards	450	463
Rushing yards	286	189
Passing yards	164	274
Turnovers	1	4
Time of possession	36:06	23:54

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
West Virginia	Passing	Garrett Greene	14-23, 156 yards
	Rushing	C.J. Donaldson	17 carries, 121 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Devin Carter	3 receptions, 47 yards
UCF	Passing	John Rhys Plumlee	25–36, 274 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	R. J. Harvey	14 carries, 100 yards
	Receiving	Kobe Hudson	3 receptions, 66 yards, 2 TD

BYU

At No. 17 Oklahoma

West Virginia Mountaineers (6–3) vs. No. 17 Oklahoma Sooners (7–2)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
West Virginia	7	7	6	0	20
No. 17 Oklahoma	14	17	14	14	59

at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK

Date: Saturday, November 11, 2023
Game time: 6:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: • Sunny Temperature: 55
Game attendance: 83,525
Referee: Kevin Mar
TV announcers (FOX): Jeff Levering (play-by-play) & Mark Helfrich (analyst)

Game information

First quarter

(11:00) WVU – CJ Donaldson 13 yard rush, Michael Hayes kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:00; WVU 7–0)
(8:27) OKLA – Dillon Gabriel 2 yard rush, Zach Schmit kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:33; Tied 7–7)
(3:16) OKLA – Dillon Gabriel 2 yard rush, Zach Schmit kick (Drive: 11 plays, 65 yards, 3:26; OKLA 14–7)

Second quarter

(13:58) OKLA – Zach Schmit 23 yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards, 1:20; OKLA 17–7)
(9:06) OKLA – Austin Stogner 3 yard pass from Dillon Gabriel, Zach Schmit kick (Drive: 9 plays, 46 yards, 2:57; OKLA 24–7)
(6:20) OKLA – Jaden Gibson 32 yard pass from Dillon Gabriel, Zach Schmit kick (Drive: 5 plays, 86 yards, 1:49; OKLA 31–7)
(0:07) WVU – Kole Taylor 3 yard pass from Garrett Greene, Michael Hayes kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 0:53; OKLA 31–14)

Third quarter

(13:48) OKLA – Drake Stoops 60 yard pass from Dillon Gabriel, Zach Schmit kick (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:12; OKLA 38–14)
(9:28) WVU – Devin Carter 7 yard pass from Garrett Green, Garrett Greene 2 pt conversion failed (Drive: 12 plays, 61 yards, 4:14; OKLA 38–20)
(4:34) OKLA – Drake Stoops 9 yard pass from Dillon Gabriel, Zach Schmit kick (Drive: 6 plays, 43 yards, 1:53; OKLA 45–20)

Fourth quarter

(13:46) OKLA – Drake Stoops 9 yard pass from Dillon Gabriel, Zach Schmit kick (Drive: 7 plays, 81 yards, 3:20; OKLA 52–20)
(7:59) OKLA – Dillon Gabriel 5 yard rush, Zach Schmit kick (Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards, 4:37; OKLA 59–20)

Statistics	WVU	OKLA
First downs	17	25
Total yards	330	664
Rushes/yards	41/176	42/221
Passing yards	154	423
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	10–31–2	23–36
Time of possession	30:32	29:28

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
West Virginia	Passing	Garrett Greene	10/27, 154 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	CJ Donaldson	14 carries, 79 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Devin Carter	3 receptions, 67 yards, 1 TD
Oklahoma	Passing	Dillon Gabriel	23/36, 423 yards, 5 TD
	Rushing	Gavin Sawchuk	22 carries, 135 yards
	Receiving	Drake Stoops	10 receptions, 164 yards, 3 TD

Cincinnati

Game Eleven – Cincinnati Bearcats at West Virginia Mountaineers

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Bearcats	0	0	0	0	0
Mountaineers	0	0	0	0	0

at Milan Puskar Stadium • Morgantown, West Virginia

Date: Saturday, November 18, 2023
Game time: TBA EDT
Game weather: • Temperature: • Wind:
TV: TBA
Pregame line: • FPI odds to win: • Game summary:

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	CIN	WVU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Cincinnati	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
West Virginia	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

At Baylor

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	—	—	RV	—	—	—	—	RV
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	—	—	RV	—	RV	RV	RV	25
CFP	Not released									—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released

Coaching staff

Coach	Title	Year at West Virginia	Previous job
Neal Brown	Head coach	5th	Troy
Matt Moore	Assistant head coach/OL	5th	Troy (Co-OC/OL)
Chad Scott	OC/RB	5th	Louisville (RB)
Jordan Lesley	DC/OLB	5th	Troy (DL)
Jeff Koonz	ILB/ST	4th	Ole Miss (ILB)
Andrew Jackson	DL	3rd	Old Dominion (DL)
Sean Reagan	QB	5th	Troy (Co-OC/QB)
Blaine Stewart	TE	1st	Pittsburgh Steelers (Assistant WR)
Bilal Marshall	WR	2nd	VMI (WR)
Dontae Wright	S	4th	Western Michigan (S)

References

^ ^a ^b "2023 West Virginia Mountaineers Football Depth Chart". ourlads.com. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
^ "West Virginia Mountaineers 2023 College Football Transfer Portal". 247Sports. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
^ "2023 West Virginia Football Transfer Portal". on3.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
^ "2023 Football Schedule". West Virginia University Athletics. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[4] Partially aired on FOX as a look-in due to lightning delayed OU-Kansas game

[Our_Lads-1] "2023 West Virginia Mountaineers Football Depth Chart". ourlads.com. Retrieved September 28, 2023.

[2] "West Virginia Mountaineers 2023 College Football Transfer Portal". 247Sports. Retrieved July 17, 2023.

[3] "2023 West Virginia Football Transfer Portal". on3.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.

[5] "2023 Football Schedule". West Virginia University Athletics. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

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[2]

[3]

[a]

[4]

v t e West Virginia Mountaineers football
Venues	Mountaineer Field (1924–1979) Milan Puskar Stadium (1980–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Cincinnati Marshall: Friends of Coal Bowl Maryland Old Ironsides Penn State Pittsburgh: Backyard Brawl Syracuse Virginia Tech
Culture & lore	The Mountaineer Marching band "Take Me Home, Country Roads" 1921 Backyard Brawl 2007 Backyard Brawl
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024