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1983 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

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1983 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Hall of Fame Classic champion
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 16
Record9–3
Head coach
Home stadiumMountaineer Field
(Capacity: 50,000)
Seasons
← 1982
1984 →
1983 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Miami (FL)       11 1 0
Virginia Tech       9 2 0
No. 19 Boston College       9 3 0
No. 16 West Virginia       9 3 0
No. 20 East Carolina       8 3 0
No. 18 Pittsburgh       8 3 1
Florida State       8 4 0
Penn State       8 4 1
Southern Miss       7 4 0
Memphis State       6 4 1
Notre Dame       7 5 0
Syracuse       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
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 fourth 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

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 3OhioW 55–354,612
September 10Pacific
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 48–754,581
September 17at No. 17 MarylandNo. 20WTBSW 31–2154,715
September 24at No. 19 Boston CollegeNo. 12ABCW 27–1732,000
October 1PittsburghNo. 7
CBSW 24–2164,076
October 15Virginia TechNo. 4
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
CBSW 13–057,181
October 22at Penn StateNo. 4L 23–4186,309
October 29at No. 7 Miami (FL)No. 12L 3–2062,600
November 5TempleNo. 17
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 27–950,514
November 12RutgersNo. 15
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 35–751,317
November 19at SyracuseNo. 14ABCL 16–2736,661
December 23vs. KentuckyNo. 18WTBSW 20–1642,000

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Roster

1983 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB Jeff Hostetler Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

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 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 were beaten 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 summaries

Pittsburgh

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

References

  1. ^ "WVU 1983 Schedule". The West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Archived from the original on 2012-05-11. Retrieved June 23, 2012.