1985 William & Mary Tribe football team

1985 William & Mary Tribe football
1985 William & Mary Tribe football
Conference	Independent
Record	7–4
Head coach	Jimmye Laycock (6th season);
Captain	Bob Solderitch, Todd Leeson, Graeme Miller
Home stadium	Cary Field
	Seasons ← 1984 1986 →

The 1985 William & Mary Tribe football team represented the College of William & Mary as an independent during the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by Jimmye Laycock in his sixth year as head coach, William & Mary finished the season with a record of 7–4 and ranked No. 16 in the final NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll.^[1]

1985 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 9 Georgia Southern ^		–		13	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Eastern Washington ^		–		9	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Richmond		–		8	–	3	–	0
Colgate		–		7	–	3	–	1
Delaware		–		7	–	4	–	0
Tennessee State		–		7	–	4	–	0
No. 16 William & Mary		–		7	–	4	–	0
Lafayette		–		6	–	5	–	0
James Madison		–		5	–	6	–	0
Lehigh		–		5	–	6	–	0
Holy Cross		–		4	–	6	–	1
Florida A&M		–		4	–	7	–	0
Western Kentucky		–		4	–	7	–	0
Bucknell		–		3	–	7	–	0
Northeastern		–		2	–	8	–	0

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	at Wake Forest		Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	L 23–30	22,300	^[2]
September 14	Norfolk State		Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	W 28–15
September 21	Delaware		Cary Field Williamsburg, VA (rivalry)	W 17–16
September 28	James Madison	No. 7	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA (rivalry)	W 31–14	12,200	^[3]
October 5	at Harvard	No. 5	Harvard Stadium Boston, MA	W 21–14	6,500	^[4]
October 12	at Virginia Tech	No. T–4	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	L 10–40	38,700	^[5]
October 19	at Temple	No. 12	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	L 16–45
October 26	at VMI		Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA (rivalry)	L 38–39	5,700	^[6]
November 2	at Lehigh		Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 31–29	10,800	^[7]
November 9	at Princeton		Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ	W 33–28	6,738	^[8]
November 16	No. 9 Richmond		Cary Field Williamsburg, VA (I-64 Bowl)	W 28–17	17,301	^[9]
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

^ "William & Mary Football Record Book" (PDF). William & Mary Athletics. June 1, 2021. p. 27. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
^ "White-led Deacons nip Tribe". Richmond Times-Dispatch. September 8, 1985. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Yagiello kayos Dukes". Daily Press. September 29, 1985. Retrieved October 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Concannon, Joe (October 6, 1985). "Harvard Falls Short Against Wm. & Mary". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 68 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Hokies run, run and run on W&M". Daily Press. October 13, 1985. Retrieved January 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "VMI gambled – W&M paid". Daily Press. October 27, 1985. Retrieved February 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Fairbank, Dave (November 3, 1985). "Tribe Holds Off Lehigh". Daily Press. Newport News, Va. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Lettis, Louis (November 10, 1985). "Princeton Falls, 33-28, to William & Mary". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. pp. 13-E, 16-E – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Clemons-led Tribe overturns Spiders 28–17". Richmond Times-Dispatch. November 17, 1985. Retrieved November 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

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