1983 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

Schedule

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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

• Source: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=dBzKUGQurMsC&dat=19831002&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Roster

• Don Nehlen

References

References

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