Football: WVU Finishes Ranked
January 04, 2003 12:51 PM | General
January 4, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Despite losing to Virginia in the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl, the West Virginia University football team finished ranked in both top 25 polls for the first time since 1993.
West Virginia was ranked 20th in the Final ESPN/USA Today coaches poll and 25th in the final Associated Press Poll.
In 1993, WVU finished sixth in the CNN/USA Today coaches poll and seventh in the AP poll. It is the 13th time in school history West Virginia has finished a football season ranked in the top 25.
The Mountaineers, under second-year coach Rich Rodriguez, finished the season 9-4 with victories over ranked teams Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. All four of the Mountaineers’ losses were to bowl teams in Wisconsin, Miami, Maryland and Virginia. Three of those four losses were to ranked teams; Wisconsin received votes in both polls.
Other Big East teams ranked were No. 2 Miami, No. 14 Virginia Tech and No. 18 Pittsburgh in the coaches poll, and No. 2 Miami, No. 18 Virginia Tech and No. 19 Pittsburgh in the media poll. Boston College received votes in both polls.
The football team’s remergence in the national rankings is part of what is becoming a very successive athletic campaign for West Virginia University this season. Last fall, the Mountaineer women’s soccer team finished the year with an 18-3-1 record, ranked 12th in the nation in the final NSCAA top 25 poll.
The WVU rifle team is currently ranked No. 2, the wrestling team is ranked ninth and the women’s gymnastics team will open its season later this month ranked 21st.
The women’s cross country team finished its season receiving top 25 votes, and both the men’s and women’s basketball teams are also currently receiving top 25 votes.
