Ten Greatest Seasons
May 19, 2004 04:11 PM | General
May 21, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – How do you rate the best single-season individual football performances in West Virginia University history? Do you measure it by how well the team does? Do you take into account where a player finished in the national rankings? Do you factor in a player’s standing in the school record book and the disparity between first and second place? Or do you try and measure the impact the player had on his team?
More specifically which is better: 1,710 yards rushing by Avon Cobourne in 2002 or 3,607 yards passing by Marc Bulger in 1998? Is Major Harris’ 2,994 yards of total offense in 1989 more impressive than Danny Buggs scoring a touchdown every five times he touched the football in 1972? Does having a milestone year like Jimmy Walthall becoming the first passer to throw for more than 1,000 yards in 1948 or Bernie Galiffa becoming the first player to reach 2,000 yards of total offense in 1972 carry more weight? Should strength of schedule be taken into consideration? Which teams played tougher schedules: the Fred Wyant-quarterbacked teams of the early 1950s, the Major Harris-led teams of the late 1980s or the Marc Bulger-directed teams of the late 1990s? Which running back accomplished more with less? Which wide receiver was handicapped by an inadequate passing game or vice versa? The determining factors are endless.
In coming up with a list of the 10 best single-season individual performances since World War II, I attempted to examine as many different factors as I could. Omitted from this list was Ira Errett Rodgers’ magnificent 1919 campaign in which he scored 19 touchdowns and produced 147 points: both records that still exist today. There are undoubtedly many other terrific seasons left unmentioned. The reason for ranking just post-World War II performances is because of incomplete records prior to that.
Therefore, at the risk of some omissions, here is my list of the 10 greatest individual offensive football seasons in WVU history.
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| Galiffa |
10 (Tie). Bernie Galiffa, QB, 1972
The maestro of Bobby Bowden’s high-octane offense in 1972 was quarterback Bernie Galiffa, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound Donora, Pa., native. Galiffa earned mention in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd after breaking Joe Namath’s Western Pa passing records throwing to Ken Griffey, Sr. at Donora High School. In 1972, Galiffa became the first Mountaineer player to produce more than 2,000 yards of total offense in a season while passing for 2,496 yards, a school record that lasted 26 years. Galiffa ranked sixth in the country in total offense and 15th in passing in leading WVU to top 10 national rankings in scoring (fourth), passing (sixth) and total offense (eighth). Galiffa passed for more than 300 yards in back-to-back games for the first time in school history; he had a career-high 341-yard effort against Penn State that Coach Joe Paterno called “big league.” Galiffa’s 1972 passing figures showed 164 completions in 334 attempts for 2,496 yards and 17 touchdowns and he topped Mike Sherwood’s 1968 passing mark by almost 500 yards. WVU went 8-4 and lost to North Carolina State in the 1972 Peach Bowl. Galiffa earned all-ECAC honors in 1972.
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| Drewery |
10 (Tie). Willie Drewrey, WR, 1984
Willie Drewrey enjoyed a banner season in 1984, ranking among NCAA leaders in three different statistical categories: kickoff returns (3rd, 563), punt returns (10th, 385) and all-purpose yardage (20th, 1,542). Drewrey also managed to snare 34 passes for 594 yards and score two touchdowns as a wide receiver in helping West Virginia to an 8-4 season and a victory over TCU in the Bluebonnet Bowl. Drewrey returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown in an important victory at Pitt and a week later took back a kickoff 93 yards for a score against Syracuse. At that point opposing teams began kicking away from the diminutive 5-foot-7, 165-pound speedster from New Jersey. Drewrey finished his career with more than 1,000 kickoff and punt return yards, one of just nine players in NCAA history to do so. Drewrey later became an NFL veteran with the Houston Oilers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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| Zereoue |
9. Amos Zereoue, RB, 1998
Amos Zereoue is the only player to make the list twice by nearly duplicating his fantastic sophomore season of 1997. As a junior in 1998, Zereoue managed to run for 1,462 yards and score 13 touchdowns despite playing against defenses designed to stop him. His 1,814 all-purpose yards ranks second all-time and his 1,462 rushing yards are third. Zereoue ranked sixth in the country in both rushing and all-purpose yards in helping West Virginia to top 20 national rankings in total offense and scoring offense. The Mountaineers finished 1998 with an 8-4 record and an invitation to play Missouri in the Insight.com Bowl. He spent five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers before catching on with the Oakland Raiders earlier this spring.
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| Walthall |
8. Jimmy Walthall, QB, 1948
Taking advantage of a 1945 NCAA rule permitting forward passes to be thrown from anywhere behind the line of scrimmage and getting more accustomed to new Coach Dud DeGroot’s pro-style “T” offense, Jimmy Walthall flourished as a passer for West Virginia in 1948. After returning from military service, Walthall seriously injured his knee during spring football practice in 1947 and wasn’t completely healed until undergoing surgery at John Hopkins in the spring of 1948. The 6-foot, 165-pound Princeton native got the ’48 campaign off to a smashing start by throwing for a then-school record 245 yards in the season opener against Waynesburg. It was the first time a Mountaineer passer had reached the 200-yard mark in a game. Walthall ended the year as the country’s fourth-rated passer, completing 89 of 176 pass attempts for 1,222 yards and 13 touchdowns. Walthall was the first WVU player to pass for more than 1,000 yards in a season in a year when Nevada’s Stan Heath became the NCAA’s first 2,000-yard thrower. Walthall’s arm guided West Virginia to an outstanding 9-3 record and a victory over Texas-Western in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. The junior was named to Collier’s all-Eastern team.
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| Sherwood |
7. Mike Sherwood, QB, 1968
Mike Sherwood’s arm and offensive coordinator Bobby Bowden’s play-calling ushered in a new era of high-scoring offensive play at West Virginia University in 1968. Moving up from the freshman team in 1967, Sherwood broke onto the national scene in just his second college start by throwing for 416 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-15 win at Pitt. Sherwood’s 416 yards was nearly 100 yards more than Allen McCune’s school-record total of 320 done against Pitt in 1965. Sherwood was named AP “Back of the Week” for his passing performance at Pitt and tacked on a 243-yard effort against Virginia Tech and a 223-yard performance against Villanova to finish the season with 1,998 passing yards. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound QB finished ‘68 ranked 11th in the country in passing yards and 16th in total offense. As a team, WVU ranked 14th in the nation in passing. The Mountaineers recorded a fine, 7-3 record with their only losses coming to Penn State, Virginia Tech and Kentucky. The following year in 1969, with a bevy of outstanding halfbacks, West Virginia coach Jim Carlen decided to ground his vaunted passing attack in favor of the wishbone made popular by Texas. To his credit, Sherwood never complained publicly about the change and helped lead the Mountaineers to one of their best seasons in school history in 1969.
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| Cobourne |
6. Avon Cobourne, RB, 2002
No West Virginia University running back has ever had more rushing yards in a season than Avon Cobourne did in 2002. Cobourne ran for a school-best 1,710 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry and scoring 17 touchdowns. Cobourne reached 100 yards in 10 of 13 games including a career-high 260-yard effort against East Carolina in which he set the school and Big East career rushing marks. Avon led the NCAA in rushing for two weeks and finished the season ranked eighth with an average of 131.5 yards per game. West Virginia’s rushing offense in 2002 ranked second in the country averaging 292.5 yards per game; the Mountaineers finished 20th in total offense. Cobourne wound up his career with 28 100-yard games and 5,164 yards, becoming one of just 10 backs in NCAA history to rush for more than 5,000 yards for his career. The Cherry Hill, N.J., resident also became just one of seven players in NCAA history to rush for 100 yards against the same team (Rutgers) four separate times. During Cobourne’s senior season West Virginia posted a 9-4 record and returned to a bowl game playing Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl. Cobourne earned AP third-team All-America honors in 2002 and he is currently a member of the Detroit Lions.
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| Marbury |
5. Kerry Marbury, RB, 1972
How does Kerry Marbury top his school-record 291-yard rushing performance as a sophomore in 1971 against Temple? He has one of the best all-around offensive seasons in WVU history in 1972. Marbury was one of the primary beneficiaries of Bobby Bowden’s wide-open offense in ‘72 that finished fourth in the nation in scoring and eighth in total offense. Marbury had 18 total touchdowns for 108 points to rank second in the country. He ran for 16 TDs, caught another one and also returned the opening kickoff against Penn State 101 yards for a touchdown. Marbury was fourth in the country in kickoff return yardage (554) and 13th in all-purpose yardage (1,456). His scoring, kickoff return and all-purpose yardage totals still rank among the top 10 single-season performances in school history. Marbury ran 150 times for 775 yards and a 5.2 yards-per-carry average that included a season-high 175 yards against Richmond. He also caught 16 passes for 127 yards and a score and accounted for 554 yards in kickoff returns. Marbury’s figures could have been higher if not for a leg injury that kept him out of the final regular season game of the year against Syracuse. After a disagreement with Bowden, Marbury chose not to return for his senior season in 1973 and left school to play professionally in the CFL.
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| Zereoue |
4. Amos Zereoue, RB, 1997
Amos Zereoue broke into the nation’s spotlight as a freshman in 1996 taking his very first carry 69 yards for a touchdown at Pitt on national TV. It was in 1997, however, that Zereoue had his breakout season. The Hempstead, N.Y., native ran 281 times for 1,589 yards and 18 touchdowns in one of the most impressive rushing campaigns in WVU history. Twice Zereoue exceeded 200 yards in a game against quality opposition (both Miami and Notre Dame on the road) and his 18 touchdowns were one shy of Ira Errett Rodgers’ 79-year school record of 19. Zereoue finished 10th in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1997 and was one of 15 semifinalists for the Football News offensive player of the year award. Zereoue began the ’97 campaign with 174 yards in the opener against Marshall and topped 100 yards in eight of 11 games he played that season. Zereoue finished third in the country in rushing, 13th in all-purpose yards and 15th in scoring. He ran for a career-high 234 yards in a loss at Notre Dame on NBC and his single-season rushing total of 1,589 yards was eventually topped five years later by Avon Cobourne. Zereoue earned third-team All-America honors by Sporting News in 1998 and helped WVU to a 7-5 record and a berth in the Carquest Bowl to face Georgia Tech.
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| Bulger |
3. Marc Bulger, QB, 1998
Marc Bulger is easily West Virginia’s University most productive passer of all-time. The Pittsburgh native set 25 school records during a four-year career from 1996-98 that saw him complete 630 of 1,023 passes for 8,153 yards and 59 touchdowns. Bulger’s best year came as a junior in 1998 when he threw for a school-record 3,607 yards and 31 touchdowns. Bulger’s 31 TDs passes exceeded by 12 Oliver Luck’s school-record of 19 set in 1980 and his 3,607 yards is 1,200 more than second-place Bernie Galiffa’s effort done in 1972. Bulger also set the single-game passing record against Missouri in the Insight.com Bowl in 1998, completing 34 of 50 passes for 429 yards and four touchdowns. In the ’98 regular season finale against Pitt, Bulger threw a school-record six touchdown passes in a 52-14 WVU blowout victory. Five of West Virginia’s 24 300-yard passing games were done by Bulger in 1998. He finished the year ranked eighth in the nation in passing efficiency and 15th in total offense. As a team, West Virginia ranked 14th in passing, 15th in total offense and 16th in scoring offense. Injuries limited Bulger during his senior season in 1999 but he was still able to sign a pro contract with the New Orleans Saints. Today, Bulger is one of the NFL’s top, young quarterbacks playing for the St. Louis Rams.
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| Buggs |
2. Danny Buggs, WR, 1972
Danny Buggs did more with fewer opportunities in 1972 than any other player in any single season in WVU history. Buggs only touched the football a total of 69 times in 1972, but he wound up scoring 14 touchdowns and averaging an astonishing 20 yards every time he touched the football. Despite only getting his talented sophomore the football an average of six times per game in ’72, Coach Bobby Bowden came up with some creative ways of doing it nonetheless. Buggs, standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 190 pounds and possessing world class speed, carried 21 times on flanker reverses and wound up rushing for 396 yards and scoring four touchdowns for an average of 18.9 yards per carry. Buggs caught 35 passes for 791 yards and eight touchdowns for an average of 22.6 yards per catch. He also took 12 punts for 170 yards and two scores, including a dazzling 95-yard touchdown return against Tulane. Buggs’ performance against VMI best illustrates his versatility. He scored touchdowns three different ways against the Keydets: by reception, by rush and by punt return. He finished the game with 164 all-purpose yards. Twice Buggs accounted for more than 200 all-purpose yards against William & Mary and Syracuse. His three carries for 100 yards against William & Mary are the fewest carries ever for any WVU single-game 100-yard rusher. Against the Orangemen in the ’72 regular season finale Buggs caught four passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns, prompting Orangemen coach Ben Schwartzwalder to call Buggs “the best sophomore in the country.” He finished the season with 1,362 all-purpose yards. Buggs was The Sporting News Rookie of the Year and he joined USC’s Anthony Davis in being named co-sophomore of the year by Football News. Buggs’ junior and senior seasons didn’t quite measure up due to injuries and inexperienced quarterback play, but he still managed to be drafted in the third round by the New York Giants and spent a total of 10 seasons in professional football.
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| Harris |
1. Major Harris, QB, 1989
One of college football’s most exciting players had the most exciting season in WVU history in 1989. Major Harris made a name for himself as a redshirt freshman in 1987 by almost leading WVU to a triumph against heavily favored Oklahoma State in the Sun Bowl on Christmas Day. A year later in 1988, Harris took West Virginia and a talented and experienced group of offensive players to the national championship game against Notre Dame. In 1989, it was all Major. Harris finished the year with 2,994 yards of total offense to average 249.5 yards per game. His 2,994 yards were more than 60 percent of the team’s offensive production in '89. He almost single-handedly helped West Virginia to a national ranking of 16th in total offense. In addition to passing for 2,058 yards and 17 touchdowns, Harris was also the team’s top rusher gaining 936 yards and scoring six touchdowns on 155 carries. Harris ranked eighth in the country in total offense, eighth in passing efficiency and 48th in rushing yards per game. His’ 23 touchdowns running and passing accounted for more than half the team’s 43 offensive touchdowns that season. He averaged 10.1 yards every time he touched the football was one of two players at the time to finish his career with more than 5,000 yards passing and 2,000 yards rushing. Harris finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting in 1989 and was a two-time ECAC player of the year. A Playboy All-American in 1989, Harris earned second-team AP and Football News All-America honors. Over the course of his three-year career, Harris averaged 203.7 yards per game and directed the Mountaineers to Sun, Fiesta and gator Bowl berths. He chose to leave school early and was selected in the 12th round of the NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders. However, his professional football experienced consisted of playing in the Canadian and Arena Football Leagues.
10 More Outstanding Performances:
Major Harris, QB, 1988
In many people’s eyes Major Harris’ 1988 season would have to rank among the 10-best in WVU history if not for the fact that his 1989 season was even better statistically. Harris had the benefit of some terrific players around him in 1988 and parlayed that into a perfect 11-0 regular season. Harris directed a powerful ’88 West Virginia offense that averaged a school-record 42.9 points per game and 5,591 yards of total offense. WVU finished the season ranked second in the nation in scoring offense, fifth in total offense and sixth in rushing offense. For his part, Harris completed 105 of 186 passes for 1,915 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed 134 times for 610 yards and six TDs.
Fred Wyant, QB, 1952
Fred Wyant’s most productive individual season came as a sophomore in 1952 after he won the starting quarterback job during the second game of the season. Wyant became just the second player in school history to have 1,000 yards of total offense in a single season and finished the year with 13 touchdowns. West Virginia, which ranked eighth in the country in rushing and 10th in total offense, won its final six games of the season including memorable triumphs over Pitt and South Carolina. Wyant went on to lead the Mountaineers to the 1954 Sugar Bowl: the school’s first major bowl appearance.
Chris Henry, WR, 2003
Wide receiver Chris Henry became just the second player in school history to have 1,000 receiving yards in a season in 2003, doing so on 35 fewer catches than WVU’s other 1,000-yard producer David Saunders. Henry’s 83.8 receiving yards per game ranked 29th and his 24.5 yards-per-catch average was the highest of any receiver with more than 40 receptions. Henry’s 10 touchdown catches included eight covering 30 yards or longer and a remarkable 32 of his 41 catches went for first-down yardage.
Dick Longfellow, QB, 1958
Quarterback Dick Longfellow was one of the few bright spots in a 1958 season that saw West Virginia register its first losing record in eight seasons. Longfellow became the first Mountaineer player to reach 1,200 yards of total offense (1,202) and was just the third player to have more than 1,000 yards of offense in a single season. Longfellow passed for a then-school-record 254 yards against Boston U. and finished the season ranked fourth in the country in passing. The team finished 14th in total offense and 16th in passing despite playing a schedule that included powers Oklahoma, Penn State, Pitt and Syracuse.
Robert Walker, RB, 1993
Robert Walker burst onto the college scene as a sophomore in 1993, rushing for more than 100 yards a school-record six consecutive times on the way to a 1,250-yard season. Walker finished the year ranked 14th in the country in rushing (108.3 ypg) while helping West Virginia to top 10 rankings in rushing offense and scoring offense. The Mountaineers posted an 11-0 regular season, captured the Big East title and played Florida in the Sugar Bowl.
Bob Gresham, RB, 1969
Known as “Mr. Outside,” Bob Gresham became the second running back in school history to reach the magical 1,000-yard mark during the final regular season game of the 1969 season against Syracuse. Gresham topped the 100-yard mark five times in ‘69 including a season-high 173 yards against Richmond. Gresham scored nine touchdowns and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. He ranked 11th in the country in rushing which in turn helped WVU to a fifth-place national ranking in team rushing. The Mountaineers posted a 10-1 record that included a victory over South Carolina in the Peach Bowl.
Artie Owens, RB, 1974
Artie Owens carried the football 174 times for 1,130 yards and scored seven touchdowns while averaging 6.5 yards per carry in 1974. The junior finished the season ranked 17th in the country in all-purpose yards (1,448) and 18th in rushing (102.7 ypg). His all-purpose yardage total still ranks ninth in school history.
Garrett Ford, RB, 1966
Garrett Ford became the first running back in school history to reach the 1,000-yard mark by rushing for 1,068 yards in 1966. Ford exceeded the 100-yard mark five times including three games rushing for more than 150 yards against William & Mary, Citadel and Pitt. His 106.8 yards-per-game averaged ranked sixth among all NCAA rushers in 1966.
Jerry Yost, QB, 1962
Jerry “Most” Yost produced a then-school-record 1,361 yards of total offense in 1962 in leading West Virginia to an outstanding 8-2 record in which both losses came to bowl teams (Penn State and Oregon State). The quarterback completed 75 of 152 passes for 1,134 yards and 11 touchdowns and also accounted for six TDs as a runner to earn third team AP All-America honors. One of Yost’s passes covered a distance of 92 yards, a school record that lasted until 1973.
David Saunders, WR, 1996
David Saunders became the first player in school history to reach the 1,000-yard mark in receiving in 1996, finishing the campaign with 1,043 yards on 76 receptions. Saunders also became the first WVU player to have more than 70 catches in a season. His best effort was a six-catch, 191-yard performance against Boston College that season.
Next week: West Virginia’s 10 best individual defensive and special teams performances.
Send us your opinion. We may not be able to answer them all but we're sure to read them.
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