1986 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

The 1986 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Mountaineers' 94th overall season and they competed as a Division I-A Independent. The team was led by head coach Don Nehlen, in his seventh year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of four wins and seven losses (4–7 overall).

1986 West Virginia Mountaineers football
ConferenceIndependent
Record4–7
Head coach
Home stadiumMountaineer Field
(Capacity: 63,500)
Seasons
← 1985
1987 →
1986 Major eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Penn State $ 6 0 0 12 0 0
No. 19 Boston College 3 2 0 9 3 0
Syracuse 3 3 0 5 6 0
Temple 2 3 0 6 5 0
Pittsburgh 2 3 0 5 5 1
Rutgers 2 4 0 5 5 1
West Virginia 1 4 0 4 7 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1986 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Penn State       12 0 0
No. 2 Miami (FL)       11 1 0
No. 20 Virginia Tech       9 2 1
No. 19 Boston College       9 3 0
Tulsa       7 4 0
Florida State       7 4 1
Army       6 5 0
Southwestern Louisiana       6 5 0
Southern Miss       6 5 0
Temple       6 5 0
Pittsburgh       5 5 1
Rutgers       5 5 1
Cincinnati       5 6 0
Notre Dame       5 6 0
Syracuse       5 6 0
South Carolina       3 6 2
Tulane       4 7 0
West Virginia       4 7 0
Louisville       3 8 0
Navy       3 8 0
Wichita State       3 8 0
East Carolina       2 9 0
Northern Illinois       2 9 0
Memphis State       1 10 0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

edit
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 6Northern IllinoisW 47–1456,665[1]
September 13at East CarolinaW 24–2133,857[2]
September 20Maryland
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
L 3–2463,500[3]
September 27at PittsburghL 16–4855,129[4]
October 4at Virginia TechL 7–1350,000[5]
October 11No. 1 Miami (FL)
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
L 14–5863,500[6]
October 25Boston College
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
L 10–1947,760[7]
November 1No. 2 Penn State
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
L 0–1959,184[8]
November 8at RutgersW 24–1715,101[9]
November 15at LouisvilleW 42–1921,834[10]
November 22Syracuse
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
L 23–3440,106[11]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[12]

Roster

edit
1986 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 1 Grantis Bell Fr
RB 3 John Holifield Sr
WR 7 John Talley Jr
QB 13 Ben Reed Jr
QB 17 Mike Timko Jr
FB 20 Craig Taylor So
G 75 John Stroia So
OT 79 Brian Smider So
TE 81 Keith Winn So
WR 82 Calvin Phillips So
TE 83 Gary Basil Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 22 Bo Orlando So
DT 61 Mike Fox Fr
DE 87 Renaldo Turnbull Fr
DT 98 David Grant Jr
DT 99 Jeff Lucas Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 8 Charlie Baumann So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

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

References

edit
  1. ^ "NIU gains respect, and another loss". Chicago Tribune. September 7, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "It wasn't pretty...but WVU will take its 24–21 victory". The Pittsburgh Press. September 14, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Maryland staggers W. Virginia". The Akron Beacon Journal. September 21, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Panthers rip West Virginia". The Lima News. September 28, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Hokies defeat West Virginia 13–7". Greensboro News & Record. October 5, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "'Canes barely break a sweat, 58–14". The Palm Beach Post. October 12, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "BC stops W. Va., 19–10". The Boston Globe. October 26, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Lions' defense stifles W. Virginia". The Daily News. November 2, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Rutgers shocked by WVa., 24–17". Daily Record. November 9, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Mountaineers thrash U of L 42–19". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 16, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "McPherson directs SU comeback, 34–23". Democrat and Chronicle. November 23, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "1986 West Virginia Mountaineers Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 31, 2024.