1980 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

The 1980 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Mountaineers' 88th overall season and they competed as a Division I-A Independent. The team was led by head coach Don Nehlen, in his first year, and played their home games at their new stadium, Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of six wins and six losses (6–6 overall).

1980 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–6
Head coach	Don Nehlen (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Gary Tranquill (1st season)
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field (Capacity: 50,000)
Seasons ← 1979 1981 →

1980 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				9	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Florida State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 9 Notre Dame		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
No. 18 Miami (FL)		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Navy		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Boston College		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
UNLV		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Tulane		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Colgate		–		–				5	–	4	–	1
North Texas State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Villanova		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
Louisville		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Richmond		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Holy Cross		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				1	–	9	–	1
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	Cincinnati	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 41–27	50,150	^[1]
September 13	at Colorado State	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	W 52–24	23,972	^[2]
September 20	Maryland	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	L 11–14	48,038	^[3]
September 27	Richmond	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 31–28	40,847	^[4]
October 4	Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 45–21	45,088	^[5]
October 11	at Hawaii	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI	L 13–16	41,889	^[6]
October 18	at No. 11 Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	L 14–42	55,130	^[7]
October 25	No. 13 Penn State	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	L 15–20	49,194	^[8]
November 1	at Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	L 11–34	45,200	^[9]
November 8	at Temple	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	W 41–28	14,995	^[10]
November 15	at Rutgers	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 24–15	16,400	^[11]
November 22	Syracuse	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	L 7–20	34,441	^[12]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1980 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 12 Oliver Luck Jr RB 31 Robert Alexander Sr FB 46 Walter Easley Sr WR 81 Darrell Miller Jr WR 89 Darryl Weatherspoon Jr G 79 Mike Durrette Jr TE 94 Mark Nagy Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 40 Fulton Walker Sr LB 50 Dennis Fowlkes So LB 90 Darryl Talley So DT 91 Todd Campbell So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 5 Curt Carion Sr	Head coach Don Nehlen Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

References

1. "Mountaineers put Evil 'I' on UC, 41–27". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 7, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "West Virginia has way too much for CSU". The Daily Sentinel. September 14, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Wysocki and Terps sock WVU, 14–11". The Pittsburgh Press. September 21, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "WVU comes up big, nips Spiders, 31–28". The Pittsburgh Press. September 28, 1980. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "'Explosive' defense paces WVU, 45–21". The Pittsburgh Press. October 5, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Asmus kicks in UH upset special". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. October 12, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Pitt rips West Virginia". The Anniston Star. October 19, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Penn State uses interception to tip W. Va., 20–15". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 26, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Turkey trot by Gobblers steams Nehlen". The Pittsburgh Press. November 2, 1980. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "WVU topples Temple by using a lot of Luck". The Pittsburgh Press. November 9, 1980. Retrieved August 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "West Virginia stops Rutgers to end any hopes at bowl bid". Asbury Park Press. November 16, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "West Virginia loses". The Roanoke Times & World-News. November 23, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.