1982 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

1982 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Gator Bowl, L 12–31 vs. Florida State
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 19
Record	9–3
Head coach	Don Nehlen (3rd season)
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field (Capacity: 50,000)

1982 Major eastern college football independents records

v t e	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
$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll

1982 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	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

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	at No. 9 Oklahoma		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 41–27	75,008	[1]
September 18	Maryland	No. 17	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		W 19–18	56,042	[2]
September 25	Richmond	No. 15	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV		W 43–10	48,461	[3]
October 2	at No. 2 Pittsburgh	No. 14	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 13–16	57,250	[4]
October 9	No. 19 Boston College	No. 16	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV		W 20–13	55,554	[5]
October 16	at Virginia Tech	No. 13	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)		W 16–6	52,300	[6]
October 23	No. 9 Penn State	No. 13	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		L 0–24	60,958	[7]
October 30	East Carolina	No. 18	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV		W 30–3	50,616	[8]
November 6	at Temple	No. 17	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA		W 20–17	28,968	[9]
November 11	at Rutgers	No. 19	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ	TBS	W 44–17	27,132	[10]
November 20	Syracuse	No. 16	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		W 26–0	48,456	[11]
December 30	vs. Florida State	No. 10	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	ABC	L 12–31	80,913	[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 Don Nehlen Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Season recap

Jeff Hostetler was the starting quarterback for the Mountaineers, leading 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 No. 9 Oklahoma. Though the team was losing by two touchdowns, the Mountaineers came back to upset the Sooners in Norman, 41–27. That was followed up with a 19–18 home victory over rival Maryland. The third game against Richmond was a blowout, in which the Mountaineers won 43–10.

Their first loss of the season came to their rival Pittsburgh, in the Backyard Brawl. Despite the loss, this was a breakout game for 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 No. 14 after their upset wins over Oklahoma and Maryland.

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

The next week, the Mountaineers hosted the number 1 team in the nation, the Penn State Nittany Lions. Penn State's dominance continued, and they won in a 24–0 shutout. WVU rebounded once again with a blowout of its own against East Carolina, 30–3. The Mountaineers then traveled to Philadelphia, to take on Temple, where they narrowly won, 20–17.

West Virginia closed out the season with wins over Rutgers and Syracuse. The team finished with a 9–2 record, ranking No. 10. West Virginia was invited to the 1982 Gator Bowl against Florida State in Jacksonville, which they lost 31-12. Their final rankings were No. 19 in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll.

Awards and honors

• Darryl Talley, All-America selection

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.