1983 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

1983 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Hall of Fame Classic Champions
Conference Independent
Ranking
Coaches #16
AP #16
1983 record 9–3
Head coach Don Nehlen
Home stadium Mountaineer Field
(Capacity: 50,000)
1983 Division I-A independents football records
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#1 Miami           11 1 0
Virginia Tech           9 2 0
#19 Boston College           9 3 0
#16 West Virginia           9 3 0
#20 East Carolina           8 3 0
#18 Pittsburgh           8 3 1
Penn State           8 4 1
Southern Miss           7 4 0
Memphis           6 4 1
Florida State           8 4 0
Notre Dame           7 5 0
Syracuse           6 5 0
William & Mary           6 5 0
South Carolina           5 6 0
Cincinnati           4 6 1
Southwestern Louisiana           4 6 0
Temple           4 7 0
Tulane           4 7 0
Louisville           3 8 0
Navy           3 8 0
Richmond           3 8 0
Rutgers           3 8 0
Army           2 9 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Mountaineers' 91st overall season and they competed as a Division I-A Independent. The team was led by head coach Don Nehlen, in his 4th year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of nine wins and three losses (9–3 overall) and with a victory over Kentucky in the Hall of Fame Classic.

Schedule

Date Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 3 Ohio Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV W 55–3   54,612
September 10 Pacific Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV W 48–7   54,581
September 17 at #17 Maryland #20 Byrd StadiumCollege Park, MD (Rivalry) WTBS W 31–21   54,715
September 24 at #19 Boston College #12 Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA ABC W 27–17   32,000
October 1 Pittsburgh #7 Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl) CBS W 24–21   64,076
October 15 Virginia Tech #4 Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV (Black Diamond Trophy) CBS W 13–0   57,181
October 22 at Penn State #4 Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA (Rivalry) L 23–41   86,309
October 29 at #7 Miami (FL) #12 Orange Bowl StadiumMiami,FL L 3–20   62,600
November 5 Temple #17 Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV W 27–9   50,514
November 12 Rutgers #15 Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV W 35–7   51,317
November 19 at Syracuse #14 Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY (Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy) ABC L 16–27   36,661
December 23 vs. Kentucky #18 Legion FieldBirmingham, AL (Hall of Fame Classic) WTBS W 20–16   42,000
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. All times are in Eastern Time.

Season summary

Jeff Hostetler was the starting quarterback for the Mountaineers. He led the team with 2345 passing yards and 16 touchdowns. Leading the team in rushing was Tom Gray with 498 net yards. Rich Hollins led the team in receiving with 50 receptions for 781 yards. Paul Woodside was also a reliable commodity for the Mountaineers. The Mountaineer offense was rolling after its first two games. They had beaten their first two opponents by a combined 103–10 score, with a 55–3 win over Ohio, and a 48–7 win over Pacific. Their first test of the season came on the road against #17 Maryland, where the Mountaineers emerged victorious 31–21.The next week, the Mountaineers played on the road, against a second straight ranked opponent in #19 Boston College. Again, the Mountaineers emerged victorious 27–17. They then avenged a heartbreaking 13–16 loss at Pittsburgh the year before, by beating the Panthers 24–21 at home. The next week, they posted a second consecutive win over a major rival by shutting out Virginia Tech 13–0 at home. The win moved WVU's ranking up to 3rd in the major polls.The Mountaineers suffered a heartbreaking loss at Penn State, the next week, ruining their national title hopes. It is very possible, that had the Mountaineers won that, they would be playing for the national championship. They were still hung over the week after, losing to Miami 20–3, giving them 2 straight losses.WVU came back with a 27–9 win over Temple, and a 35–7 win over Rutgers. They lost at Syracuse the next week 27–16, and closed out the season with a 20–16 win over Kentucky in the Hall of Fame Bowl.

Game notes

Pittsburgh


1 234Total
Pittsburgh 14 700 21
West Virginia 7 737 24
  • Source:

References

  1. "WVU 1983 Schedule". The West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
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