MORGANTOWN —
West Virginia University’s earth-shattering 70-33 victory over favored Clemson was witnessed by football TV viewers from coast to coast.
But the fact that the Mountaineers won another Lambert Trophy in the process hasn’t become as well known. That is symbolic of NCAA Division I supremacy in the East.
It is the fourth time that West Virginia has won that award, which is sponsored by the ECAC and the Meadowlands.
The Mountaineers finished the 2011 season with a 10-3 record and final national rankings of 17th by The Associated Press and 18th by USA Today/ESPN.
In case you’re interested, Cincinnati finished runner-up to WVU in the final balloting for the Lambert Trophy. Rutgers was third, Penn State fourth and Louisville fifth.
The bottom five included in order Temple, Pittsburgh, Navy, Connecticut and Syracuse.
West Virginia and Lambert Trophy winners in football’s lower divisions will be honored by the ECAC at a dinner on Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.
Dana Holgorsen, a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) winner in his first season as head coach, is expected to represent West Virginia along with others at that function.
It would be fitting also if the players chosen as team captains for this past season could be there.
WVU also won the Lambert Trophy in 1988, 1993 and 2007.
Don Nehlen, the Hall of Famer, gave the university its only undefeated and untied teams in ’88 and ’93. Both were 11-0 for regular-season competition.
The first finished with the best-ever final rankings of No. 5 in both major national rankings. And it lost to Notre Dame by 34-21 in a Fiesta Bowl showdown for the national title.
The 1993 team won the school’s first Big East championship (7-0 conference record). That team finished sixth and seventh nationally.
Rich Rodriguez coached the 2007 team that posted an 11-2 record, won the conference championship, and wound up sixth in both poles.
A 13-9 loss to Pitt in the final game knocked WVU out of a shot at the national championship. With Bill Stewart as interim head coach, however it kayoed Oklahoma 48-28 in the Fiesta Bowl Jan. 2, 2008.
Mickey Furfari
FURFARI COLUMN: WVU to receive fourth Lambert Trophy
- Mickey Furfari
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FURFARI COLUMN: Crutchfield ‘miracle man’ at West Liberty
Jim Crutchfield, who learned the value of “aggressive defense” in basketball as a player at the old Roosevelt-Wilson High School in Clarksburg, continues to parlay that play phase with others to lead the nation in scoring as well as achieve smashing success as an NCAA Division II head coach.
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FURFARI COLUMN- Talley successful as business owner
Darryl Talley, one of the hardest-hitting and most productive tacklers in West Virginia University football history, is now owner and operator of a successful business in Florida.
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FURFARI COLUMN: Is WVU’s Mazey Big 12 Baseball Coach of the Year?
Randy Mazey, West Virginia University’s new baseball coach, continues to raise eyebrows from coast to coast as the Mountaineers elevate to a three-way tie in the Big 12 Conference for first place in the standings.
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FURFARI COLUMN: Ex-WVU swimmer still winning at 77
Dan “Cav” Cavanaugh, who grew up in Parkersburg, is individually the most honored swimmer in West Virginia University’s athletic history.
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FURFARI COLUMN- ‘Ideal’ conference can’t possibly become reality
With West Virginia University nearing the end of its first year as a member of the Big 12 Conference, some people are speculating where it could — or should — have been competing in intercollegiate athletics.
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FURFARI COLUMN- Former Mountaineer DB Agee a celebrity in Hollywood
Tim Agee, one of the toughest little defensive backs in Don Nehlen’s 21 years as West Virginia University’s head football coach, did not waste much time becoming a celebrity in Hollywood, Calif.
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FURFARI COLUMN: Former LB now is noted artist
David Benn of Akron, Ohio, was an outstanding linebacker on the West Virginia University football team in 1968-69-70.
But the 6-2, 200-pound alumnus became more of a longtime celebrity than he was then. -
FURFARI COLUMN: Dunlap said to be taking a new role
Steve Dunlap reportedly has told friends he will be rejoining West Virginia University’s football program in a new, non-coaching role on July 1.
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FURFARI COLUMN- Was Geno Smith a victim of racial bias?
You may recall that recently a guy writing in Pro Football Weekly assaulted the talent, practice habits and character of WVU quarterback Geno Smith.
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FURFARI COLUMN: Who knows how good WVU will be?
How strong will West Virginia University’s football team be in the 2013 season?
I don’t have any idea. I haven’t seen the Mountaineers in spring practice. With practice open to the media for just the first 30 minutes and only on some days, I think it would have been a waste of my time. - More Mickey Furfari Headlines
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FURFARI COLUMN: Crutchfield ‘miracle man’ at West Liberty
