1981 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

1981 West Virginia Mountaineers football

Peach Bowl Champions
Peach Bowl, W 26–6 vs. Florida
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 18
AP	No. 17
1981 record	9–3
Head coach	Don Nehlen
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field (Capacity: 50,000)

1981 Division I-A independents football records
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#3 Penn State		–		–		10	–	2	–	0
#4 Pittsburgh		–		–		11	–	1	–	0
#8 Miami		–		–		9	–	2	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–		9	–	2	–	1
#17 West Virginia		–		–		9	–	3	–	0
Colgate		–		–		7	–	3	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–		7	–	4	–	0
Navy		–		–		7	–	4	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Florida State		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Tulane		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
UNLV		–		–		6	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–		6	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–		5	–	5	–	0
Boston College		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
Louisville		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
Rutgers		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
William & Mary		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–		4	–	6	–	1
Richmond		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		–		3	–	7	–	1
North Texas State		–		–		2	–	9	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–		1	–	10	–	0
Memphis		–		–		1	–	10	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Mountaineers' 89th overall season and they competed as a Division I-A Independent. The team was led by head coach Don Nehlen, in his 2nd 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 Florida in the Peach Bowl.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 12		at Virginia	Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA		W 32–18	34,007
September 19		at Maryland	Byrd Stadium • College Park, MD (Rivalry)		W 17–13	38,300
September 26		Colorado State	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV		W 49–3	48,716
October 3		at Boston College	Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA		W 38–10	23,500
October 10	1:00 PM	No. 4 Pittsburgh	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl)		L 0–17	54,280
October 17		Virginia Tech	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV (Black Diamond Trophy)		W 27–6	49,115
October 24		at No. 1 Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA (Rivalry)		L 7–30	85,012
October 31		East Carolina	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV		W 20–3	41,364
November 7		Temple	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV		W 24–19	40,342
November 14		Rutgers	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV		W 20–3	44,395
November 21		at Syracuse	Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY (Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy)	ABC	L 24–27	33,117
December 31		vs. Florida	Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium • Atlanta, GA (Peach Bowl)	CBS	W 26–6	37,582
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Reference:^[1]

Season recap

Oliver Luck was the starting quarterback for the Mountaineers. He led the team with 2448 passing yards and 16 touchdowns. Leading the team in rushing was Curlin Beck with 537 net yards. Rich Hollins led the team in receiving with 37 receptions for 764 yards.

The first game pitted the Mountaineers against the Virginia Cavaliers. The Mountaineers won the opener 32–18 in Charlottesville. WVU then traveled to College Park, where they took on the Maryland Terrapins. WVU held on for a 17–13 road victory.

Their home opener was against Colorado State, who they thrashed 49–3. They then traveled to Boston College, where they won 38–10. Their first loss of the season came at the hands of archrival Pitt 17–0 at home. They rebounded with a resounding 27–6 win over Virginia Tech. They played at Penn State, but lost 7–30, to the number 1 team in the nation.

The Mountaineers returned home for a game with East Carolina, in which they won 20–3. They later on beat Temple by a 24–19 margin. Rutgers was next up, and lost 20–3.

West Virginia barely lost on the road to Syracuse, 24–27, but more than made up for it with a 26–6 thumping of the Florida Gators in the Peach Bowl.

References

↑ "WVU 1981 Schedule". The West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved June 23, 2012.

West Virginia Mountaineers football

Venues	Mountaineer Field (1924–1979) Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium (1980–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Marshall Maryland Penn State Pittsburgh Syracuse Virginia Tech

Culture & lore	The Mountaineer Marching band "Take Me Home, Country Roads"

People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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