Tag: WVU football

WVU Football Hopes to Bounce Back

West Virginia University’s football program is hoping that 2014 is much better than 2013 after finishing 4-8.

WVU Head Coach Dana Holgorsen enters his fourth season in Morgantown. In his first season, the last for WVU in the Big East, they finished 10-3. In the following two season while in the Big 12, Holgorsen is 11-14 overall and 6-12 in the Big 12. Holgorsen said he doesn’t feel any extra pressure headed into the season.

“Probably as much as everybody else in college football, it’s obviously a very very high profile and exciting time when it comes to each head coach that exists,” Holgorsen said. “We try to improve, I try to improve as a head coach each and every year and I put it on our assistant coaches to try to improve each and every year.”

WVU is picked to finish 8th in the 10 team Big 12 conference ahead of Iowa State and Kansas, teams that both beat the Mountaineers during the 2013 season. Holgorsen said he’s optimistic that things will turn around this year.

“I think we’re going into a good situation right now, got 55 guys coming back, the majority of the games that we were in last year were very competitive,” Holgorsen said. “Hopefully a lot of the guys that are in the locker room right now that were a part of some of those close losses and some of those close wins as well can use that to our advantage and understand what to expect and try to win a few more of those games next year.”

Four of WVU’s 8 losses last year were by 10 points or less. Three of their four wins were by 10 points or less as well. West Virginia opens the upcoming season against Alabama in Atlanta, Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. That game combined with an always tough slate in the Big 12 make for a tough schedule says Holgorsen.

The only member of the Mountaineers to be selected by the media to the preseason first-team Big 12 squad was defensive back Karl Joseph. Among WVU’s other top players is punter Nick O’Toole. He said he’ll do whatever he has to help the team succeed.

“Whatever helps the team out, if they need me to put something inside the 20 then that’s what I have to do, if we have a slow coverage team, which we didn’t have last year, than I have to give us some more hang time,” O’Toole said. “It’s a lot of different things and you just have to be a well-rounded athlete and a well-rounded punter to have the combination of hang time and distance and just precision punting.”

WVU opens the season August 30th against the Crimson Tide of Alabama.  

Holgorsen staying on as head coach, WVU AD says

West Virginia University football coach Dana Holgorsen will get at least one more year to right the ship of the football program.

In 2013, WVU suffered its first losing season since 2001, posting a 4-8 record. It was Holgorsen’s third year in charge of the program.

WVU Director of Athletics Oliver Luck acknowledged the program needs work to get back to a winning level.

“We simply must get better,” Luck said in a prepared statement released to the press Tuesday.

Following a 10-3 year in his first campaign, which ended in an Orange Bowl victory, Holgorsen’s tenure at WVU has been turbulent.

Holgorsen has posted a 11-14 record in the last two years, the school’s first two in the Big 12 conference.

The following is Oliver Luck’s full statement:

“First, I want to thank all Mountaineer fans who supported our football team through a difficult and trying season.  Though there were some high points this year, including our upset victory over No. 11 Oklahoma State and the inspired play from many first year student-athletes, there were far too many disappointments. 
 
We have high expectations at West Virginia University for success on and off the field and as Coach Holgorsen has acknowledged to me, we are not meeting those expectations on the field.  Coach Holgorsen and I met at length and reviewed this past season.  We discussed the coaching staff, recruiting, player development, strength and conditioning, academic support, facilities, in short, all the components that make up a successful program.  We are working diligently to improve our capabilities in all of these areas.
 
I strongly believe in our coaching staff, including the work that our strength and conditioning staff is doing.  In my opinion, continuity is the key ingredient that will bring our football program back to the high level that Mountaineer fans expect.
 
We had plenty of challenges this season; nonetheless, we should not and will not use those as excuses for our performance. We simply must get better.
 
Coach Holgorsen and his staff are on the road recruiting this week, securing the future for a successful Mountaineer football program.  We need to do our part as well by continuing to move forward with the facility improvements needed to compete at the highest level in our conference.
 
We have high expectations for the 2014 football team, and I have shared those with Coach Holgorsen.  He and his staff are eager to get started to prepare for our opening game against Alabama.  We are well aware that we have a lot of work to do. 
 
We have tremendous student-athletes in our program and a very accomplished core of coaches who want to bring championships back to West Virginia University.  We will do all we can to help them in that endeavor, and I ask for your continued support as we move forward to a brighter future.”

Exit mobile version