1989 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Gator Bowl, L 7–27 vs. Clemson
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
APNo. 21
Record8–3–1
Head coach
Offensive schemeOption
Home stadiumMountaineer Field
Seasons
← 1988
1990 →
1989 Major eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 15 Penn State $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 1
No. 17 Pittsburgh 4 – 1 – 1 8 – 3 – 1
No. 21 West Virginia 3 – 1 – 1 8 – 3 – 1
Syracuse 3 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Temple 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
Rutgers 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 2
Boston College 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1989 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Miami (FL)   –   11 – 1 – 0
No. 2 Notre Dame   –   12 – 1 – 0
No. 3 Florida State   –   10 – 2 – 0
Northern Illinois   –   9 – 2 – 0
No. 15 Penn State   –   8 – 3 – 1
No. 17 Pittsburgh   –   8 – 3 – 1
No. 21 West Virginia   –   8 – 3 – 1
Syracuse   –   8 – 4 – 0
Southwestern Louisiana   –   7 – 4 – 0
Akron   –   6 – 4 – 1
South Carolina   –   6 – 4 – 1
Virginia Tech   –   6 – 4 – 1
Louisiana Tech   –   5 – 4 – 1
Army   –   6 – 5 – 0
Louisville   –   6 – 5 – 0
East Carolina   –   5 – 5 – 1
Tulsa   –   6 – 6 – 0
Southern Miss   –   5 – 6 – 0
Tulane   –   4 – 8 – 0
Navy   –   3 – 8 – 0
Rutgers   –   2 – 7 – 2
Boston College   –   2 – 9 – 0
Memphis State   –   2 – 9 – 0
Cincinnati   –   1 – 9 – 1
Temple   –   1 – 10 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1989 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Mountaineers' 97th overall season and they competed as a Division I-A Independent. The team was led by head coach Don Nehlen, in his tenth year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of eight wins, three losses and one tie (8–3–1 overall), and earned a Gator Bowl berth against No. 14 Clemson, where they were defeated 27–7.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 2Ball StateNo. 17
W 35–1057,866[1]
September 9at MarylandNo. 17
W 14–1045,000[2]
September 16South CarolinaNo. 12
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 45–2166,015[3]
September 23at LouisvilleNo. 9
W 30–2139,132[4]
September 30No. 10 PittsburghNo. 9
T 31–3168,938[5]
October 7Virginia TechNo. 9
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
L 10–1262,563[6]
October 21CincinnatiNo. 18
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 69–347,176[7]
October 28at Boston CollegeNo. 15
W 44–3032,000[8]
November 4at No. 16 Penn StateNo. 13
L 9–1985,911[9]
November 11RutgersNo. 19
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 21–2061,336[10]
November 23at SyracuseNo. 17
W 24–1746,757[11]
December 30vs. No. 14 Clemson*No. 17
L 7–2782,911[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[13]

Season summary

Coming off of its first ever 11-win season and with junior Major Harris returning to lead a potent offense, West Virginia entered the 1989 season ranked 17th in the AP Poll and with high expectations. The Mountaineers started the season accordingly, racing to a 4–0 record and to #9 in the AP Poll. In Week 5 against #10 Pitt, however, West Virginia fell victim to another memorable collapse in the Backyard Brawl. Trailing 31–9 in the 4th quarter, Pitt scored 22 unanswered points and kicked a game-tying field goal as time expired to force a 31–31 tie.[14] The Mountaineers would suffer another heartbreaking result the following week with a 12–10 home loss to Virginia Tech, as well as a 19–9 loss to #16 Penn State in State College. Despite those disappointing defeats, WVU finished the regular season at 8–2–1, a #17 ranking in the AP Poll, and a trip to the Gator Bowl to face #14 Clemson. The Mountaineers faltered, however, losing 27–7 and finished the season at 8–3–1 with a #21 ranking in the final AP Poll.[15]

Roster

1989 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 88 Reggie Rembert Sr
WR 2 Greg Dykes Sr
QB 9 Major Harris Jr
WR 11 Wes Jackson Jr
WR 15 James Jett Fr
WR 16 David Miers Sr
QB 16 Chris Gray So
QB 17 James Breitbeil So
FB 20 Craig Taylor Sr
FB 36 Aaron Evans Jr
RB 33 Eugene Napoleon Sr
OT 72 Jack Linn Sr
G 74 Larry Cook Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 11 Darrell Whitmore So
DT 61 Mike Fox Sr
DE 87 Renaldo Turnbull Sr
LB 49 Chris Haering Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Statistical leaders

All stats are courtesy of WVUStats.com unless otherwise cited.[16]

Major Harris - 142/245, 2,058 yards, 17 touchdowns, 11 interceptions
Major Harris - 155 carries, 936 yards, 6.0 average per carry, six touchdowns
Garrett Ford, Jr. - 148 carries, 733 yards, 5.0 average per carry, six touchdowns
Reggie Rembert - 47 receptions, 850 yards, 11 touchdowns
Preston Waters - 7 interceptions

References

  1. ^ "Credibility; Second half 'reality' beats BSU". The Muncie Star. September 3, 1989. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Offense stalls as Terp upset bid fails". The Sunday Star. September 10, 1989. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "W. Virginia runs USC awry 45–21". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. September 17, 1989. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Big plays put Mountaineers over the top of Cardinals". Messenger-Inquirer. September 24, 1989. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Pitt rallies from 22 back to tie". Wisconsin State Journal. October 1, 1989. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Virginia Tech gets a giant kick out of Thomas' 4 FGs". The Akron Beacon Journal. October 8, 1989. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Harris, Mountaineers end slump, rip Bearcats 69–3". The Palm Beach Post. October 22, 1989. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "West Virginia gets a scare in 44–30 win". The Pittsburgh Press. October 29, 1989. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Lions jump on Major mistakes". The Times Leader. November 5, 1989. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "WVU's 21–20 win deflates Rutgers". The Pittsburgh Press. November 12, 1989. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "West Virginia slips past Syracuse". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 24, 1989. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Clemson harasses Harris in coasting to Gator Bowl victory". The Orlando Sentinel. December 31, 1989. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "1989 West Virginia Mountaineers Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  14. ^ Antonik, John; Scuillo, Sam (December 1, 2007). "Tales from the Backyard Brawl". MSN Sportsnet (West Virginia University Athletics). Archived from the original on December 4, 2007. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  15. ^ DeVault, Mark. "WVU 1989 Schedule". WVU Stats (West Virginia University Athletics). Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  16. ^ DeVault, Mark. "WVU 1989 Statistics". WVU Stats (West Virginia University Athletics). Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
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