2009 West Virginia Mountaineers football team The 2009 West Virginia Mountaineer football team represented West Virginia University in the college football season of 2009 . The Mountaineers were led by head coach Bill Stewart and played their home games on Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown , West Virginia . The Mountaineers finished the season 9 – 4 ( 5 – 2 Big East ) and lost in the Gator Bowl 21 – 33 against Florida State . Game notes . Liberty . Jarrett Brown completed 19 of 26 passes for 243 yards and ran for a 22 - yard touchdown , and redshirt freshman Tyler Bitancurt kicked four field goals to lead West Virginia to a 33 – 20 season - opening victory over Liberty . East Carolina . West Virginia was able to overcome a mistake filled day to gain some payback on the East Carolina Pirates . Quarterback Jarrett Brown had a career day completing 24 of 31 passes for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns , including a 58 yard bomb to freshman Tavon Austin . Brown also picked up 73 yards on the ground . Auburn . All - time record : Tied 1 - 1 This was the second meeting between West Virginia and Auburn , with the Mountaineers winning the first game 34 – 17 during the 2008 season . Colorado . All - time record : Tied 1 – 1 This was the second meeting between West Virginia and Colorado , with the Buffaloes winning the first game 17 – 14 in overtime during the 2008 season . The game was designated a Gold Rush , meaning that fans attended the game wearing all gold . West Virginia scored early with a Noel Devine 77 yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage . Colorado responded with a 36 yard run from tailback Rodney Stewart . They then took the lead by making a 39 yard field goal . ( He had missed 2 field goals earlier in the game . ) West Virginia responded with a 6 yard touchdown pass from Jarrett Brown to Jock Sanders . Despite 4 fumbles lost in the first half for West Virginia , they still led 14 – 10 at halftime . The second half started with a 48 yard touchdown pass to receiver Bradley Starks to put the Mountaineers up 21 – 10 , Colorado responded by converting on 4th and 10 for a 26 yard touchdown to trim the lead to 4 . In the 4th quarter , freshmen fullback Ryan Clarke rumbled for a 1 yard touchdown run , and later ran for an 8 yard run putting the Mountaineers up 35 – 17 with 2 minutes to play . Colorado scored the final touchdown of the night with 3 seconds left , but it was too late for any sort of comeback as the Mountaineers won 35 – 24 . Noel Devine had a career high 220 yards rushing with an average of 10 yards per carry . Syracuse . WVU jumped out to a 27 – 0 halftime lead en route to beating the Orange for an 8th straight time . Jarrett Brown completed 22 – 30 passing for 244 yards and a TD pass to Noel Devine , who also had 97 yards on the ground with a TD . Marshall . Starting QB Jarrett Brown was knocked out of the game on the Mountaineer ' s opening drive , forcing true freshman Geno Smith to step in . The emotional punch of having Brown out of the game showed as Marshall was able to head into the half with a 7 – 3 lead . WVU responded by scoring on its first possession of the second half , on the way to 21 second half points . Smith finished 15 – 21 passing for 147 yards and a TD , Noel Devine added 103 yards on the ground scoring 2 TDs Pittsburgh . West Virginia ' s Tyler Bitancurt kicked a 43 yard field goal as time expired to give WVU a win in the 102nd Backyard Brawl . The 2009 Backyard Brawl , broadcast by ESPN2 , was the most watched college football game in the history of ESPN2 . Florida State . 2010 Konica Minolta Gator Bowl marked the final game for legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden , who also spent six seasons as head coach at West Virginia .