1972 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

The 1972 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. It was the Mountaineers' 80th overall season and they competed as an independent. The team was led by head coach Bobby Bowden, in his third year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of 8–4 with a loss against NC State in the Peach Bowl.

1972 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Peach Bowl, L 13–49 vs. NC State
ConferenceIndependent
Record8–4
Head coach
Home stadiumMountaineer Field
Seasons
← 1971
1973 →
1972 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Penn State     10 2 0
No. 14 Notre Dame     8 3 0
Utah State     8 3 0
West Virginia     8 4 0
Florida State     7 4 0
Northern Illinois     7 4 0
Rutgers     7 4 0
No. 20 Georgia Tech     7 4 1
Air Force     6 4 0
Army     6 4 0
Virginia Tech     6 4 1
Houston     6 4 1
Tulane     6 5 0
Temple     5 4 0
Colgate     5 4 1
Holy Cross     5 4 1
Syracuse     5 6 0
Miami (FL)     5 6 0
Dayton     4 6 1
Boston College     4 7 0
Navy     4 7 0
South Carolina     4 7 0
Southern Miss     3 7 1
Xavier     3 8 0
Marshall     2 8 0
Cincinnati     2 9 0
Villanova     2 9 0
Pittsburgh     1 10 0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 9VillanovaW 25–633,500[1]
September 16Richmond
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 28–731,000[2]
September 23at VirginiaW 48–1027,000[3]
September 30at StanfordL 35–4156,000[4]
October 7William & Mary
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 49–3428,000[5]
October 14at TempleL 36–3913,067[6]
October 21Tulane
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 31–1929,500[7]
October 28No. 11 Penn StateNo. 18
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
L 19–2837,000[8]
November 4at PittsburghW 38–2040,286[9]
November 11VMI
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 50–2421,000[10]
November 18Syracuse
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
W 43–1231,500[11]
December 29vs. NC StateNo. 18L 13–4952,671[12]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

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1972 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR  8 Danny Buggs So
QB  12 Bernie Galiffa Sr
RB  32 Kerry Marbury Jr
WR  9 Marshall Mills So
OG  78 Walt Bragg Jr
OT  72 Dan Larcamp Jr
57 Gerald Schultze Sr
OG  68 Doug Stevens So
OT  60 Bill Samuelson Sr
TE  88 Nate Stephens Sr
FB  44 Brian Chiles Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DE  89 Bob Sims Sr
DT  77 Dennis Reid Sr
DT  90 Jeff Merrow So
DT  73 Frank Samsa Sr
LB  63 Tom Zakowski Sr
LB  50 Billy Joe Mantooth Sr
LB  84 Bruce Huffman So
DB  20 Rick Weiskircher Sr
DB  23 Tom Geishauser Sr
DB  18 David Morris Sr
DB  10 Doug Charley Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
41 Steve Soroka Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

References

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  1. ^ "W. Virginia zips behind 6 boots, 25–6". The Des Moines Register. September 10, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "West Virginia romps over Richmond by 28–7 margin". The Danville Register. September 17, 1972. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "West Virginia's bombs upend Virginia, 48–10". Florida Today. September 24, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Stanford fights back West Virginia, 41–35". The Lincoln Star. October 1, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Mounties outscore Indians". The News and Observer. October 8, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Allen Lewis (October 15, 1972). "Temple Nips W. Va. On Late Punt Return". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 1D, 10D – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Turn-about, WVU converts Tulane mistakes into important 31–19 victory". Sunday Gazette-Mail. October 22, 1972. Retrieved October 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Penn St. rallies to nip WVa". The Sacramento Bee. October 29, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "West Virginia rolls with Kerry Marbury". The Roanoke Times. November 5, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "W. Virginia beats VMI by 50 to 24". The Danville Register. November 12, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "West Virginia crushes Syracuse". Winston-Salem Journal & Sentinel. November 19, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "West Virginia joy silenced". The Atlanta Journal. December 30, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.