1980 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

1980 West Virginia Mountaineers football
ConferenceIndependent
Record6–6
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGary Tranquill (1st season)
Home stadiumMountaineer Field
(Capacity: 50,000)
Seasons
← 1979
1981 →
1980 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Pittsburgh   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
Tennessee State   –   –   9 – 1 – 0
No. 5 Florida State   –   –   10 – 2 – 0
No. 8 Penn State   –   –   10 – 2 – 0
No. 9 Notre Dame   –   –   9 – 2 – 1
No. 18 Miami (FL)   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Southern Miss   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Navy   –   –   8 – 4 – 0
South Carolina   –   –   8 – 4 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   –   8 – 4 – 0
Boston College   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Northeast Louisiana   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Rutgers   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
UNLV   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Tulane   –   –   7 – 5 – 0
Colgate   –   –   5 – 4 – 1
North Texas State   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Villanova   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
West Virginia   –   –   6 – 6 – 0
Louisville   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Richmond   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Syracuse   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
East Carolina   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Illinois State   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Temple   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Army   –   –   3 – 7 – 1
Holy Cross   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Cincinnati   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
Memphis State   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
William & Mary   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
Georgia Tech   –   –   1 – 9 – 1
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1980 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Mountaineers' 88th overall season and they competed as a Division I-A Independent. The team was led by head coach Don Nehlen, in his first year, and played their home games at their new stadium, Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of six wins and six losses (6–6 overall).

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 6Cincinnati
W 41–2750,150[1]
September 13at Colorado State
W 52–2423,972[2]
September 20Maryland
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
L 11–1448,038[3]
September 27Richmond
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 31–2840,847[4]
October 4Virginiadagger
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 45–2145,088[5]
October 11at Hawaii
L 13–1641,889[6]
October 18at No. 11 Pittsburgh
L 14–4255,130[7]
October 25No. 13 Penn State
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
L 15–2049,194[8]
November 1at Virginia Tech
L 11–3445,200[9]
November 8at Temple
W 41–2814,995[10]
November 15at Rutgers
W 24–1516,400[11]
November 22Syracuse
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
L 7–2034,441[12]
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1980 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 12 Oliver Luck Jr
RB 31 Robert Alexander Sr
FB 46 Walter Easley Sr
WR 81 Darrell Miller Jr
WR 89 Darryl Weatherspoon Jr
G 79 Mike Durrette Jr
TE 94 Mark Nagy Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 40 Fulton Walker Sr
LB 50 Dennis Fowlkes So
LB 90 Darryl Talley So
DT 91 Todd Campbell So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P 5 Curt Carion Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

  1. ^ "Mountaineers put Evil 'I' on UC, 41–27". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 7, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "West Virginia has way too much for CSU". The Daily Sentinel. September 14, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Wysocki and Terps sock WVU, 14–11". The Pittsburgh Press. September 21, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "WVU comes up big, nips Spiders, 31–28". The Pittsburgh Press. September 28, 1980. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "'Explosive' defense paces WVU, 45–21". The Pittsburgh Press. October 5, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Asmus kicks in UH upset special". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. October 12, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Pitt rips West Virginia". The Anniston Star. October 19, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Penn State uses interception to tip W. Va., 20–15". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 26, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Turkey trot by Gobblers steams Nehlen". The Pittsburgh Press. November 2, 1980. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "WVU topples Temple by using a lot of Luck". The Pittsburgh Press. November 9, 1980. Retrieved August 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "West Virginia stops Rutgers to end any hopes at bowl bid". Asbury Park Press. November 16, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "West Virginia loses". The Roanoke Times & World-News. November 23, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.