The West Virginia University football program traces its origin back to November 28, 1891, when its first team fell to Washington & Jefferson 72–0 on a converted cow pasture.

[4] That same Mountaineer team also produced West Virginia's first ever Consensus All-American and potential College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ira Errett Rodgers.

[4] West Virginia experienced a lag in success during much of the 1940s, producing only three winning seasons while witnessing the split coaching tenures of Bill Kern (1940–42, 1946–47) and the second appearance of Ira Errett Rodgers (1943–45).

[4] Under the direction of head coach Dudley DeGroot in the 1948 season, the Mountaineers returned to prominence with a 9–3 finish, adding another Sun Bowl victory to its resume with a 21–12 defeat of Texas Western (now known as UTEP).

[15] In 1955, the Mountaineers engineered yet another eight-win season and SoCon championship, but upset losses to Pitt and Syracuse doomed West Virginia's shot at a bowl bid.

[16] Despite its disappointing finish, WVU produced two All-American offensive linemen and future College Football Hall of Fame inductees in Bruce Bosley and Sam Huff.

[21] After Lewis's departure, the program hit an all-time low in 1960 under first-year head coach Gene Corum, posting its worst season to date: 0–8–2.

It was later revealed that Cignetti had suffered from a rare form of cancer during the season, nearly losing his life on the operating table during a procedure to remove his spleen in the winter of 1978.

Led by senior quarterback Oliver Luck's 2,448 yards passing and 16 touchdowns, the 1981 team posted a 9–3 record and earned a trip back to the Peach Bowl, where they defeated the Florida Gators 26–6.

Freshman quarterback Major Harris led the way for the Mountaineers, compiling 16 total touchdowns and providing glimpses of what was to come in his illustrious collegiate career.

[21] While his coaching tenure contained numerous successes, Nehlen's time at WVU also included its share of shortcomings as his Mountaineer teams often struggled against ranked opponents and in bowl games.

[45] After Nehlen's retirement, WVU named then-Clemson offensive coordinator and West Virginia native Rich Rodriguez as its first new head coach in 20 years.

Despite a 5–3 record through the season's first eight games, the Mountaineers reeled off four consecutive victories, including upset road wins over then-ranked rivals Virginia Tech (No.

West Virginia squandered its opportunity to win the Big East outright, leading to a four-way tie for first place and the BCS Fiesta Bowl nomination going to Pitt by tiebreaker.

[48] Quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton helped to erase a 24–7 4th quarter deficit en route to a thrilling 46–44 triple overtime victory.

[49] From that point forward, the Mountaineers outscored their opponents 156–39 en route to a 10–1 finish and a 7–0 record in conference play for their second outright Big East championship.

1 in the Coaches Poll, needing only a victory at home over a 4–7, 28-point underdog Pitt team in the 100th installment of the Backyard Brawl to secure its second ever National Championship Game appearance.

WVU amassed a 9–4 record and a second-place finish in the Big East, closing the season Meineke Car Care Bowl victory over North Carolina and a No.

West Virginia's season concluded with a loss in the Gator Bowl to Florida State in Bobby Bowden's final game as a head coach.

Despite assembling arguably the strongest defense in program history (surrendering only 176 total points, an average of 13.5 per game) and having a talented offense, West Virginia struggled with consistency all season.

Prior to West Virginia's Champs Sports Bowl match up with North Carolina State, Dana Holgorsen was hired as the "coach-in-waiting," serving as offensive coordinator during the 2011 season and replacing Stewart as head coach in 2012.

While athletic director Luck was unable to substantiate the claims, he decided that the coach-in-waiting arrangement was untenable, leading to Stewart's resignation and Holgorsen becoming head coach.

WVU bounced back beating Towson 65–7, than by successfully defending the Black Diamond trophy at Virginia Tech the week following, winning 33–10.

Located next to Woodburn Hall in what is now considered the Downtown portion of the WVU campus, the first incarnation of Mountaineer Field consisted of a horseshoe-type seating arrangement.

The Puskar Center underwent significant renovations in 2012 and 2013, aimed specifically at improving the weight room, the aesthetics of the facility's interior, lounge space for the football players and upgrading the coaches' meeting areas.

It debuted in 1980 along with the current gold and blue color scheme as a part of a football uniform redesign by head coach Don Nehlen, and has since become one of the most widely recognized logos in collegiate athletics.

[115] In adopting the Flying WV logo on the team's helmets, Nehlen wanted to create a distinct image for the football program that could be easily identified.

The helmet also implemented the coal dust accent, along with a yellow line down the center designed to embody the beam of light emitted by a miner's headlamp.

The Mountaineers and Maryland Terrapins have met on a semi-annual basis since 1919, recently rekindling a cross-border rivalry that was once the longest continuous non-conference series for these geographical neighbors.

Among those players, Tavon Austin (as a Return Specialist, 2011), Noel Devine, Pat White (2007), Eric Wicks (2006), Adam "Pac-Man" Jones (as a Cornerback, 2004), Grant Wiley (2003), Barrett Green, Canute Curtis, Aaron Beasley (1995), Todd Sauerbrun (1994) and Adrian Murrell (1992) were unanimous selections by the conference.