2011 West Virginia Mountaineers football team The 2011 West Virginia Mountaineer football team represented West Virginia University in the 2011 college football season as members of the Big East Conference . The Mountaineers were led by Dana Holgorsen , who was his first season as head coach . West Virginia played their home games on Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown , West Virginia . They finished the season 10 – 3 , 5 – 2 in Big East play to earn a share of the Big East Conference Championship with Cincinnati and Louisville . The Mountaineers earned the league ' s automatic berth in the BCS due to being the highest ranked of the Big East champions in the final BCS rankings . They were invited to the Orange Bowl for the first time ever where they defeated Clemson 70 – 33 . West Virginia is now 3 – 0 in BCS games and the 70 points in the Orange Bowl is the most points ever scored by one team in a bowl game . Previous season . The 2010 West Virginia Mountaineers finished the season at 9 – 4 with a 5 – 2 record in Big East play . They shared the 2010 Big East Football Championship with Pittsburgh and Connecticut , with Connecticut earning the Big East BCS bid by way of tie - breaker . The Mountaineers were invited to the Champs Sports Bowl where they were defeated by North Carolina State 23 – 7 . Pre - season . Coaching changes . On December 16 , 2010 West Virginia University announced the hiring of former Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen . Holgorsen replaces Jeff Mullen as offensive coordinator and will take over as the Mountaineers head coach in 2012 . On January 5 , 2011 the Mountaineers announced the hiring of three offensive coaches ; Robert Gillespie ( Running Backs ) , Bill Bedenbaugh ( Offensive Line ) , and Shannon Dawson ( Inside - Receivers ) . On March 10 , 2011 it was announced that lone offensive staff holdover Lonnie Galloway ( Outside - Receivers ) has left West Virginia to take a coaching job at Wake Forest . On March 28 , 2011 West Virginia University announced the hiring of Daron Roberts as an assistant coach . Roberts will be working with wide receivers and special teams . On June 10 , 2011 West Virginia University announced that Bill Stewart had resigned as head coach and that Dana Holgorsen would assume the position effective immediately . Holgorsen has stated he will serve as his own offensive coordinator but that he was unsure who would fill the extra spot on the coaching staff . On July 8 , 2011 Head Coach Dana Holgorsen hired Alex Hammond as recruiting coordinator . The Mountaineers have retained the entire 2010 defensive coaching staff for the 2011 season . Spring Game . The 2011 Gold - Blue Spring Game took place on Friday , April 29 , 2011 at 7 PM at Mountaineer Field . Over 22 , 000 fans attended to see the Gold team defeat the Blue team 83 – 17 . The game was televised statewide on West Virginia Media stations . Polls . The Mountaineers were picked to win the Big East Conference by the media at conference media day , picking up 21 out of 24 first place votes . Game notes . Marshall . Series Lead : West Virginia leads 10 – 0 Recap : WVU picked up the win in a game that was delayed a total of 4 hours , 22 minutes and called with 14 : 36 left in the 4th quarter . Following a 3rd quarter Tavon Austin kickoff return for a touchdown that gave the Mountaineers a 27 – 13 lead with five minutes to play in the third quarter , the game experienced a lightning delay that lasted 3 hours , 6 minutes . Once resuming play a Vernard Roberts one - yard touchdown run extended the WVU lead to 34 – 13 early in the fourth quarter , after which the game was once again delayed for lightning . It was ultimately agreed to by both teams to end the game . Geno Smith lead the game for WVU going 26 – 35 for 246 yards and two touchdowns . Norfolk State . Series Lead : First meeting . Recap : The Mountaineers overcame a sluggish first half exploding for 45 second half points and ending the game with 533 yards of total offense . Geno Smith went 20 – 34 for 371 yards and 4 TDs passing . As a team WVU passed for 431 yards , the most since 1998 . Maryland . Series Lead : West Virginia leads 25 – 21 – 2 Recap : The Mountaineers got off to a fast start , building a 27 – 10 halftime lead behind the arm of junior quarterback Geno Smith and rushing touchdowns from freshmen Vernard Roberts and Andrew Buie . The lead was built to 24 , 34 – 10 , in the third quarter on a Smith connection to high school teammate Stedman Bailey . Maryland scored 21 unanswered points to bring the game to within 3 points , 34 – 31 , before the Mountaineers added another field goal to build their lead to 6 , 37 – 31 . The Terrapins drove down the field in an attempt to take the lead , but quarterback Danny O ' Brien was intercepted by Eain Smith with 1 : 13 remaining in the game to seal it for the Mountaineers . LSU . Series Lead : LSU leads 2 – 0 ESPN ' s College GameDay broadcasted from Morgantown for the first time . Recap : Despite outgaining the tigers 533 – 366 , West Virginia was unable to overcome poor tackling and special teams play . The Mountaineers also committed four turnovers . West Virginia ' s Geno Smith set school records for completions ( 38 ) , attempts ( 65 ) and passing yards ( 463 ) against LSU ' s highly regarded defense . Bowling Green . Series Lead : West Virginia leads 2 – 0 Recap : West Virginia put together its most complete game of the season as the running game that had struggled in past weeks exploded to the tune of 360 . True freshman Dustin Garrison set a school record for most rushing yards by a freshman with 291 , good enough for a tie for the second most total in school history . WVU ' s 643 yards of total offense were a Mountaineer Field record . Connecticut . Series Lead : West Virginia leads 6 – 1 Recap : Syracuse . Series Lead : Syracuse leads 31 – 27 Recap : Rutgers . Series Lead : West Virginia leads 33 – 4 – 2 Recap : Geno Smith threw two second - half touchdowns to help West Virginia ( 6 – 2 , 2 – 1 Big East ) post its 17th straight win over Rutgers . WVU trailed 31 – 21 at the halftime , fighting both the Scarlet Knights offense , and harsh weather conditions . The Mountaineer defense allowed a season - high 31 points in the first half , but shutout Rutgers in the second . The Mountaineers won their first conference road game of the season , and became bowl - eligible in the process . Smith finished 20 – 33 for 218 yards , and two touchdowns , while Shawne Alston ran for a career - high 110 yards and two scores on 14 carries . < http : / / scores . espn . go . com / ncf / recap ? gameId = 313020164 / > Louisville . Series Lead : West Virginia leads 10 – 2 Recap : Cincinnati . Series Lead : West Virginia leads 15 – 3 – 1 Recap : West Virginia blocked a game tying field goal attempt as time expired to secure the win over the # 23 ranked Bearcats , WVU ' s first road win over a team ranked in the AP Top 25 since their last win in Cincinnati during the 2007 season . Pittsburgh . Series Lead : Pitt leads 61 – 40 – 3 Recap : South Florida . Series Lead : Series even at 3 – 3 Recap : Orange Bowl . Series Lead : Series tied 1 – 1 Recap : Geno Smith tied a record for any bowl game with six touchdown passes , including four to Tavon Austin , and No . 23 West Virginia set a bowl scoring record by beating No . 14 Clemson 70 – 33 on Wednesday in the Orange Bowl . Darwin Cook ' s 99 - yard fumble return for a touchdown was one of the Mountaineers ' five TDs in the second quarter , including three in the final 2 : 29 for a 49 – 20 lead . It was the highest - scoring half by a team in a bowl game . Austin ' s four TD receptions tied a record for any bowl game , and Smith broke Tom Brady ' s Orange Bowl record with 407 yards passing . West Virginia ' s point total broke the bowl record established six nights earlier when Baylor beat Washington 67 – 56 in the Alamo Bowl . Rankings . Set FBS Record for most points scored in a BCS Bowl Game