2012 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The season marked the Mountaineers ' first season as members of the Big 12 Conference . In addition , the 2012 season was the first for the team since 1942 without a Backyard Brawl matchup against their top rival Pittsburgh due to their exit from the Big East Conference after the 2011 season . The Mountaineers were led by Dana Holgorsen in his second season as head coach . Joe DeForest and Keith Patterson served as co-defensive coordinators in their first season at WVU , while Shannon Dawson was elevated to offensive coordinator after serving as the team 's receivers coach in the 2011 season . West Virginia played its home games on Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown , West Virginia . They finished the season 7 – 6 , 4 – 5 in Big 12 play to finish in a four way tie for fifth place . They were invited to the Pinstripe Bowl where they were defeated by longtime rival Syracuse
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
2012 West Virginia Mountaineers football team