1989 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

1989 West Virginia Mountaineers football

Gator Bowl, L 7–27 vs. Clemson
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 21
1989 record	8–3–1
Head coach	Don Nehlen
Offensive scheme	Option
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field (Capacity: 63,500)

1989 Division I-A independents football records
	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
#1 Miami		–		11	–	1	–	0
#2 Notre Dame		–		12	–	1	–	0
#3 Florida State		–		10	–	2	–	0
Northern Illinois		–		9	–	2	–	0
#15 Penn State		–		8	–	3	–	1
#17 Pittsburgh		–		8	–	3	–	1
#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		–		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 10th 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

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	Result	Attendance
September 2	Ball State*	No. 17	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	W 35–10	57,866^[1]
September 9	at Maryland*	No. 17	Byrd Stadium • College Park, MD (MD-WV Rivalry)	W 14–10	45,000^[1]
September 16	South Carolina*	No. 12	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	W 45–21	66,015^[1]
September 23	at Louisville*	No. 9	Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY	W 30–21	39,132^[1]
September 30	No. 10 Pitt*	No. 9	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl)	T 31–31	68,938^[1]
October 7	Virginia Tech*	No. 9	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV (VT-WV Rivalry)	L 10–12	62,563^[1]
October 21	Cincinnati*	No. 18	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	W 69–3	47,176^[1]
October 28	at Boston College*	No. 15	Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA	W 44–30	32,000^[1]
November 4	at No. 16 Penn State*	No. 13	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	L 9–19	85,911^[1]
November 11	Rutgers*	No. 19	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	W 21–20	61,336^[1]
November 24	at Syracuse*	No. 17	Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY	W 24–17	46,757^[1]
December 30	vs. No. 14 Clemson*	No. 17	Gator Bowl Stadium • Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	L 7–27	82,911^[1]
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

Statistical Leaders

All stats are courtesy of WVUStats.com unless otherwise cited.^[4]

Passing:

Major Harris - 142/245, 2,058 yards, 17 touchdowns, 11 interceptions

Rushing:

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

Receiving:

Reggie Rembert - 47 receptions, 850 yards, 11 touchdowns

Interceptions:

Preston Waters - 7 interceptions

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 DeVault, Mark. "WVU 1989 Schedule". WVU Stats (West Virginia University Athletics). Retrieved January 12, 2012.
↑ Antonik, John; Scuillo, Sam (December 1, 2007). "Tales from the Backyard Brawl". MSN Sportsnet (West Virginia University Athletics). Retrieved January 13, 2012.
↑ DeVault, Mark. "WVU 1989 Schedule". WVU Stats (West Virginia University Athletics). Retrieved January 13, 2012.
↑ DeVault, Mark. "WVU 1989 Statistics". WVU Stats (West Virginia University Athletics). Retrieved January 17, 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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