1997 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

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1997 West Virginia Mountaineers football
ConferenceBig East Conference
Record7–5 (4–3 Big East)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDan Simrell (3th season)
Defensive coordinatorSteve Dunlap (6th season)
Home stadiumMountaineer Field
(Capacity: 63,500)
Seasons
← 1996
1998 →
1997 Big East Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 21 Syracuse $   6 – 1     9 – 4  
No. 23 Virginia Tech   5 – 2     7 – 5  
Pittsburgh   4 – 3     6 – 6  
West Virginia   4 – 3     7 – 5  
Miami (FL)   3 – 4     5 – 6  
Temple   3 – 4     3 – 8  
Boston College   3 – 4     4 – 7  
Rutgers   0 – 7     0 – 11  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Mountaineers' 105th overall and 7th season as a member of the Big East Conference (Big East). The team was led by head coach Don Nehlen, in his 18th year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of seven wins and five losses (7–5 overall, 4–3 in the Big East) and with a loss in the Carquest Bowl against Georgia Tech.

Schedule[edit]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 30NoonMarshall*
ESPN+W 42–3165,492
September 612:30 p.m.East Carolina*
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, West Virginia
ESPNW 24–1751,143
September 13Noonat Boston College
ESPNL 24–3139,200
September 273:30 p.m.at Miami (FL)
CBSW 28–1739,270
October 4NoonRutgers
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, West Virginia
ESPN+W 48–051,737
October 111:00 p.m.at Maryland*
W 31–1431,210
October 253:30 p.m.No. 19 Virginia TechNo. 21
CBSW 30–1763,649
November 17:30 p.m.at SyracuseNo. 17
ESPNL 10–4049,273
November 151:00 p.m.Temple
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, West Virginia
W 41–2137,061
November 222:30 p.m.at Notre Dame*No. 22
NBCL 14–2180,225
November 282:30 p.m.Pittsburgh
CBSL 38–41 3OT48,044
December 297:30 p.m.vs. Georgia Tech*
TBSL 30–3528,262

Rankings[edit]

See also: 1997 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP————————232117——22————
Coaches——24———24222017222321————

Personnel[edit]

1997 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OT 65 Sam Austin
QB 10 Marc Bulger So
C 67 Eric de Groh Jr
G 62 Steve Ford Jr
WR 16 Shawn Foreman Jr
RB 9 Curtis Keaton
WR 80 James Norton So
OT 77 Solomon Page So
G 61 Bryan Pukenas Jr
TE 87 Chad Wable Sr
FB 34 Leroy White Sr
RB 20 Amos Zereoué So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
CB 3 Perlo Bastien So
DE 45 Bob Baum
LB 1 Damon Cogdell
SS 33 Barrett Green So
LB 52 John Hadley Sr
LB 50 Steve Lippe Sr
DT 78 Henry Slay Sr
DE 55 Gary Stills Jr
CB 28 Nate Terry
FS 11 Gary Thompkins So
NT 96 John Thornton Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P 7 Bryan Baumann Sr
K 47 Jay Taylor So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries[edit]

Marshall[edit]

1 234Total
Thundering Herd 3 7210 31
• Mountaineers 21 7014 42
       
Scoring summary
112:30WVUGary Thompkins 7-yard blocked punt return (Jay Taylor kick)WVU 7–0
6:04WVUAmos Zereoué 10-yard run (Jay Taylor kick)WVU 14–0
2:24MARBilly Malashevich 25-yard field goalWVU 14–3
0:02WVUAmos Zereoué 52-yard run (Jay Taylor kick)WVU 21–3
210:51WVUCurtis Keaton 11-yard run (Jay Taylor kick)WVU 28–3
3:34MARLaVorn Colclough 24-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Billy Malashevich kick)WVU 28–10
313:08MARRandy Moss 15-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Billy Malashevich kick)WVU 28–17
9:24MARLlow Turner 53-yard run (Billy Malashevich kick)WVU 28–24
0:35MARRandy Moss 25-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Billy Malashevich kick)MAR 31–28
411:07WVUChad Wable 15-yard pass from Marc Bulger (Jay Taylor kick)WVU 35–31
7:56WVUAmos Zereoué 1-yard run (Jay Taylor kick)WVU 42–31
See also: 1997 Marshall Thundering Herd football team and Friends of Coal Bowl

[1]

Maryland[edit]

See also: 1997 Maryland Terrapins football team and Maryland–West Virginia football rivalry

Virginia Tech[edit]

See also: 1997 Virginia Tech Hokies football team and Black Diamond Trophy

Syracuse[edit]

See also: 1997 Syracuse Orangemen football team and Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy

Pittsburgh[edit]

See also: 1997 Pittsburgh Panthers football team and Backyard Brawl

Georgia Tech (Carquest Bowl)[edit]

Main article: 1997 Carquest Bowl
See also: 1997 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Marshall Makes It Close". Los Angeles Times. August 31, 1997. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
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