1982 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Gator Bowl, L 12–31 vs. Florida State
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 19
APNo. 19
Record9–3
Head coach
Home stadiumMountaineer Field
(Capacity: 50,000)
Seasons
← 1981
1983 →
1982 Major eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Penn State $ 6 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 10 Pittsburgh 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 19 West Virginia 4 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Boston College 3 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 1
Rutgers 1 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Temple 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Syracuse 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1982 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Penn State   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
No. 10 Pittsburgh   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 13 Florida State   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 19 West Virginia   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Boston College   –   –   8 – 3 – 1
Southwestern Louisiana   –   –   7 – 3 – 1
East Carolina   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Southern Miss   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Notre Dame   –   –   6 – 4 – 1
Cincinnati   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Georgia Tech   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Navy   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Louisville   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Rutgers   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Army   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
South Carolina   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Temple   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Tulane   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Syracuse   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
Memphis State   –   –   1 – 10 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1982 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Mountaineers' 90th overall season and they competed as a Division I-A Independent. The team was led by head coach Don Nehlen, in his third 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 loss against Florida State in the Gator Bowl.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 11at No. 9 Oklahoma
W 41–2775,008[1]
September 18MarylandNo. 17
W 19–1856,042[2]
September 25RichmondNo. 15
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 43–1048,461[3]
October 2at No. 2 PittsburghNo. 14
ABCL 13–1657,250[4]
October 9No. 19 Boston CollegeNo. 16
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 20–1355,554[5]
October 16at Virginia TechNo. 13
W 16–652,300[6]
October 23No. 9 Penn StateNo. 13
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
L 0–2460,958[7]
October 30East CarolinaNo. 18
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 30–350,616[8]
November 6at TempleNo. 17
W 20–1728,968[9]
November 11at RutgersNo. 19
TBSW 44–1727,132[10]
November 20SyracuseNo. 16
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
W 26–048,456[11]
December 30vs. Florida StateNo. 10
ABCL 12–3180,913[12]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1982 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 15 Jeff Hostetler Jr
FB 36 Ron Wolfley So
WR 48 Willie Drewrey So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 90 Darryl Talley Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P 11 Stephen Superick Fr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Season recap

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Jeff Hostetler was the starting quarterback for the Mountaineers. He led the team with 1916 passing yards and 10 touchdowns. Leading the team in rushing was Curlin Beck with 357 net yards. Darrell Miller led the team in receiving with 34 receptions for 565 yards.

The first game featured the Mountaineers against perennial powerhouse Oklahoma. Despite being a two touchdown plus underdog, the Mountaineers played a great game to upset the Sooners in Norman, 41–27. That was followed up with a 19–18 home victory over rival Mayland. The third game against Richmond was a blowout, in which the Mountaineers won 43–10.

Their first loss of the season came to their hated rival, Pittsburgh, in the Backyard Brawl, by a score of 16–13. In the brawl, fans were introduced to All-American linebacker Darryl Talley. He intercepted a Dan Marino pass and blocked a punt for a safety in West Virginia's 16–13 loss to the No. 2-rated Panthers. The 1982 game was one of just five times that both teams were nationally ranked: Pitt was rated No. 2 and West Virginia was 14th after upset wins over Oklahoma and Maryland.

The Mountaineers rebounded with a hard-fought 20–13 slugfest over Boston College, and quarterback Doug Flutie. WVU traveled to Blacksburg to take on rival Virginia Tech, in a game the Mountaineers won 16–6.

The next week, the Mountaineers hosted the number 1 team in the Nation, the Penn State Nittany Lions at home. WVU's offense never got rolling against the vaunted defense of Penn State, who pitched a 24–0 shutout. WVU rebounded once again with a blowout of its own against East Carolina, 30–3. The Mountaineers traveled to Philadelphia to take on Temple. The Owls lost 20–17.

West Virginia closed out the season with dominating wins over Rutgers, and Syracuse. That gave them a 9–2 record, a number 10 national ranking, and a trip to the Gator Bowl to take on Florida State.

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ "Mountaineers throw it all at Sooners". The Sunday Oklahoman. September 12, 1982. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Mountaineers hold off Terps". The Roanoke Times & World-News. September 19, 1982. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "WVU romps, 43–10; Pitt next". The Pittsburgh Press. September 26, 1982. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Second-ranked Pitt rallies to West Virginia 16–13". Winston-Salem Journal. October 3, 1982. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "West Virginia dumps BC, 20–13". The Bradenton Herald. October 10, 1982. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Turnovers help W. Virginia slip past Virginia Tech 16–6". The Charlotte Observer. October 17, 1982. Retrieved January 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Penn State's defense devastates W. Virginia". Democrat and Chronicle. October 24, 1982. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "WVU's backup QB a pleasant surprise". The Pittsburgh Press. October 31, 1982. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "West Virginia escapes with close win". The Selma Times-Journal. November 7, 1982. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Drewrey spurs W. Virginia to 44–17 lacing of Rutgers". The Courier-Post. November 12, 1982. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "West Virginia gives SU the boot". The Sunday Press. November 21, 1982. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Seminoles rout Mountaineers in Gator Bowl". The Palm Beach Post. December 31, 1982. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
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