1983 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Hall of Fame Classic champion
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 16
Record9–3
Head coach
Home stadiumMountaineer Field
Seasons
← 1982
1984 →
1983 Major eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 16 West Virginia 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Penn State 3 – 1 – 1 8 – 4 – 1
No. 18 Pittsburgh 2 – 1 – 1 8 – 3 – 1
No. 19 Boston College $ 3 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Syracuse 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Temple 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Rutgers 0 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll
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

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 3Ohio
W 55–354,612[1]
September 10Pacific (CA)
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 48–754,581[2]
September 17at No. 17 MarylandNo. 20
WTBSW 31–2154,715[3]
September 24at No. 19 Boston CollegeNo. 12
ABCW 27–1732,000[4]
October 1PittsburghNo. 7
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
CBSW 24–2164,076[5]
October 15Virginia TechNo. 4
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
CBSW 13–057,181[6]
October 22at Penn StateNo. 4
L 23–4186,309[7]
October 29at No. 7 Miami (FL)No. 12
L 3–2063,881[8]
November 5TempleNo. 17
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 27–950,514[9]
November 12RutgersNo. 15
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 35–751,317[10]
November 19at SyracuseNo. 14
CBSL 16–2736,661[11]
December 23vs. KentuckyNo. 18
WTBSW 20–1642,000[12]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1983 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 15 Jeff Hostetler Sr
FB 36 Ron Wolfley Jr
WR 48 Willie Drewrey Jr
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
Scoring summary
1WVUBrown 19-yard pass from Hostetler (Woodside kick)WVU 7-0
1PITTQuense 75-yard fumble return (Schubert kick)Tied 7-7
1PITTScales 21-yard run (Schubert kick)PITT 14-7
2WVUHarvey 1-yard run (Woodside kick)Tied 14-14
2PITTWallace 35-yard pass from Congemi (Schubert kick)PITT 21-14
3WVUWoodside 49-yard field goalPITT 21-17
4WVUHostetler 6-yard run (Woodside kick)WVU 24-21

References

  1. ^ "West Va. trounces OU, 55–3". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 4, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "West Virginia trounces Pacific with defense". The Modesto Bee. September 11, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "West Virginia tops Maryland, 31–21". The Victoria Advocate. September 18, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "W. Va. Mountaineers blitz Boston College". The Daily Advertiser. September 25, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "No. 7 West Virginia rules Pitt 24–21". Fort Lauderdale News. October 2, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "West Virginia tops Virginia Tech, 13–0". The Pittsburgh Press. October 16, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Rebounding Penn State rips fourth-rated West Virginia". The Courier-Post. October 23, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Hurricanes blow past West Virginia". The Grand Island Independent. October 30, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "West Virginia topples Temple, breaks two-game losing streak". Star Tribune. November 6, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "West Virginia routs Rutgers". Asbury Park Press. November 13, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Syracuse surprises West Virginia". The Sunday Press. November 20, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Hostetler finally gets warmed up". Birmingham Post-Herald. December 23, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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