1973 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

The 1973 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. It was the Mountaineers' 81st overall season and they competed as an independent. The team was led by head coach Bobby Bowden, in his fourth year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of 6–5.

1973 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Bobby Bowden (4th season)
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field
Seasons ← 1972 1974 →

1973 NCAA Division I independents football records
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame			–					11	–	0	–	0
No. 5 Penn State			–					12	–	0	–	0
No. 9 Houston			–					11	–	1	–	0
Temple			–					9	–	1	–	0
No. 20 Tulane			–					9	–	3	–	0
Memphis State			–					8	–	3	–	0
Tampa			–					8	–	3	–	0
Boston College			–					7	–	4	–	0
South Carolina			–					7	–	4	–	0
Utah State			–					7	–	4	–	0
Air Force			–					6	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss			–					6	–	4	–	1
Northern Illinois			–					6	–	5	–	0
Rutgers			–					6	–	5	–	0
West Virginia			–					6	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					6	–	5	–	1
Colgate			–					5	–	5	–	0
Dayton			–					5	–	5	–	1
Xavier			–					5	–	5	–	1
Georgia Tech			–					5	–	6	–	0
Holy Cross			–					5	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					5	–	6	–	0
Cincinnati			–					4	–	7	–	0
Marshall			–					4	–	7	–	0
Navy			–					4	–	7	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					3	–	7	–	1
Villanova			–					3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse			–					2	–	9	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					2	–	9	–	0
Army			–					0	–	10	–	0
Florida State			–					0	–	11	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	at Maryland		Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)	W 20–13	35,112
September 22	Virginia Tech		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 24–10	33,000	^[1]
September 29	at Illinois		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 17–10	48,107
October 6	Indiana	No. 20	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 14–28	37,000
October 13	Pittsburgh		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl)	L 7–35	37,000
October 20	at Richmond		City Stadium Richmond, VA	L 17–38	21,172	^[2]
October 27	at No. 5 Penn State		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	L 14–62	59,138
November 2	at Miami (FL)		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	W 20–14	24,890
November 10	Boston College		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 13–25	22,500
November 17	Virginia		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 42–17	26,000
November 24	at Syracuse		Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy)	W 24–14	12,917
Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1973 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class   Danny Buggs	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Bobby Bowden Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

References

1. "W. Virginia beats Virginia Tech". Sunday News. September 23, 1973. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Richmond defense wins over West Va., 38–17". The Gastonia Gazette. October 21, 1973. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.