1997 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

American college football season

1997 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Carquest Bowl, L 30–35 vs. Georgia Tech
ConferenceBig East Conference
Record7–5 (4–3 Big East)
Head coach
  • Don Nehlen (18th season)
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
  • v
  • t
  • e
 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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 3012:00 p.m.Marshall*ESPN PlusW 42–3165,492[1]
September 612:30 p.m.East Carolina*
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
ESPNW 24–1751,143[2]
September 1312:00 p.m.at Boston CollegeESPNL 24–3139,200[3]
September 273:30 p.m.at Miami (FL)CBSW 28–1739,270[4]
October 412:00 p.m.Rutgers
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
ESPN PlusW 48–051,737[5]
October 111:00 p.m.at Maryland*W 31–1431,210[6]
October 253:30 p.m.No. 19 Virginia TechNo. 21
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV (rivalry)
CBSW 30–1763,649[7]
November 17:30 p.m.at SyracuseNo. 17ESPNL 10–4049,273[8]
November 151:00 p.m.Temple
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
W 41–2137,061[9]
November 222:30 p.m.at Notre Dame*No. 22NBCL 14–2180,225[10]
November 282:30 p.m.Pittsburgh
CBSL 38–41 3OT48,044[11]
December 297:30 p.m.vs. Georgia Tech*TBSL 30–3528,262[12]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP————————232117——22————
Coaches——24———24222017222321————

Personnel

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

Marshall

1 234Total
Thundering Herd 3 7210 31
• Mountaineers 21 7014 42
  • Date: August 30
  • Location:
    Mountaineer Field
    Morgantown, WV
  • Game start: Noon EST
  • Game attendance: 65,492
  • Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C), Partly Cloudy and Mild, Wind NW 4 mph (6.4 km/h)
  • Referee: Jim Maconaghy
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): John Sanders and Jeff Bostic
       
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

[13]

Maryland

Virginia Tech

Syracuse

Pittsburgh

Georgia Tech (Carquest Bowl)

References

  1. ^ "West Virginia survives rally by Marshall". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 31, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Banged up Harley stalls". The Charlotte Observer. September 7, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Just when it's least expected". The Hartford Courant. September 14, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Gloom over Miami". The Stuart News. September 28, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Knights simply dazed; Offense hits bottom vs. W. Virginia". Asbury Park Press. October 5, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "RB Zereoue lifts W. Virginia". The Miami Herald. October 12, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Mountaineers humble Hokies 30–17". Martinsville Bulletin. October 26, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Syracuse overcomes mistakes, W. Virginia". The Journal News. November 2, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Owls lose their season finale, and maybe Dickerson as well". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 16, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Powlus finally a hero as Irish beat Mountaineers". The Indianapolis Star. November 23, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Triple threat; Gonzalez TD pass in third OT puts Pitt in bowl picture". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 29, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Hamilton helps Georgia Tech roll over West Virginia". The Odessa American. December 30, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Marshall Makes It Close". Los Angeles Times. August 31, 1997. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
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