1954 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

The 1954 West Virginia Mountaineers football team was an American football team that represented West Virginia University in the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1954 college football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Art Lewis, the Mountaineers compiled an overall record of 8–1 with a mark of 3–0 in conference play, winning the SoCon title for the second consecutive season.

1954 West Virginia Mountaineers football
SoCon champion
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 12
Record	8–1 (3–0 SoCon)
Head coach	Art Lewis (5th season)
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field
Seasons ← 1953 1955 →

1954 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 12 West Virginia $	3	–	0	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
Furman	2	–	0	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
No. 16 VPI	3	–	0	–	1			8	–	0	–	1
Davidson	2	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
VMI	4	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Richmond	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
William & Mary	1	–	2	–	2			4	–	4	–	2
George Washington	0	–	4	–	1			1	–	7	–	1
The Citadel	0	–	4	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 2	at No. 15 South Carolina*		Carolina Stadium Columbia, SC	W 26–6	31,000
October 9	George Washington	No. 16	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 13–7	20,000	^[1]
October 16	at No. 9 Penn State*	No. 14	New Beaver Field University Park , PA (rivalry)	W 19–14	32,312
October 23	vs. VMI	No. 10	Mitchell Stadium Bluefield, WV	W 40–6	11,000	^[2]
October 30	Pittsburgh*	No. 7	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	L 10–13	34,000
November 6	Fordham*	No. 17	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 39–9	10,000	^[3]
November 13	at William & Mary	No. 16	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	W 20–6	10,000
November 20	NC State*	No. 14	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 28–3	20,000
November 27	at Virginia*	No. 12	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 14–10	10,000
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1954 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 11 Fred Wyant Jr End 89 Billy Hillen Sr End 84 Joe Kopnisky So Guard 64 Gene Lathey So Guard 88 Bill Underdonk Jr Center 36 Charles Donaldson Sr OL-LT 77 Bruce Bosley Jr OL-RG 75 Sam Huff So OL-LG 72 Gene Lamone Jr Guard 65 Jerry Urda So End 55 John Kernic Sr End 81 Max Ludwig Sr RB 22 Victor "Jack" Rabbits So RB 42 Dick Nicholson Sr RB 15 Harry Sweeney Sr FB 24 Carl Norman Sr FB 35 Danny Williams Sr [[American football positions|]] [[American football positions|]] [[American football positions|]]	Defense Pos. # Name Class [[American football positions|]] [[| ]]	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Art "Pappy" Lewis Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

References

1. "Keydets win on safety by 16 to 14". Richmond Times-Dispatch. September 26, 1954. Retrieved January 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "West Virginia's devastating ground game rocks VMI 40–6". The State. October 24, 1954. Retrieved January 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. McKowen, Bob (November 7, 1954). "WVU trims Fordham; Six men get touchdowns". The Charleston Daily Mail. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Mountaineers whip Rams, 39-9". The Pittsburgh Press. November 7, 1954. sect. 4, p. 2.