CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 West Virginia

9–⁠3, coached by Don Nehlen, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

West Virginia in 1981, game by game: won at Virginia 32–18; won at Maryland 17–13; won vs. Colorado State 49–3; won at Boston College 38–10; lost vs. No. 4 Pittsburgh 0–17; won vs. Virginia Tech 27–6; lost at No. 1 Penn State 7–30; won vs. East Carolina 20–3; won vs. Temple 24–19; won vs. Rutgers 20–3; lost at Syracuse 24–27; won vs. Florida 26–6+46−23Won 32–18 at Virginia+14VirginiaWon 17–13 at Maryland+4MarylandWon 49–3 vs. Colorado State+46Colorado StateWon 38–10 at Boston College+28Boston CollegeLost 0–17 vs. No. 4 Pittsburgh-17No. 4 PittsburghWon 27–6 vs. Virginia Tech+21Virginia TechLost 7–30 at No. 1 Penn State-23No. 1 Penn StateWon 20–3 vs. East Carolina+17East CarolinaWon 24–19 vs. Temple+5TempleWon 20–3 vs. Rutgers+17RutgersLost 24–27 at Syracuse-3SyracuseWon 26–6 vs. Florida+20Florida
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12atVirginiaW 32–⁠1849%
Sep 19atMarylandW 17–⁠1341%
Sep 26vsColorado StateW 49–⁠374%
Oct 3atBoston CollegeW 38–⁠1049%
Oct 10vs4PittsburghL 0–⁠1739%
Oct 17vsVirginia TechW 27–⁠663%
Oct 24at1Penn StateL 7–⁠3025%
Oct 31vsEast CarolinaW 20–⁠375%
Nov 7vsTempleW 24–⁠1965%
Nov 14vsRutgersW 20–⁠370%
Nov 21atSyracuseL 24–⁠2759%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsFloridaPeach BowlW 26–⁠646%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Florida 26–⁠6 in the Peach Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Final: 17

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1981.

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
3–⁠3 3rd in the Major eastern college football independents (Wikipedia)
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 17
Points
284–⁠155
Coach
Don Nehlen
Elo
1640 +143 this season
SP+ rating
19.3 No. 15 of 132; offense No. 32, defense No. 12
SRS
16.3 No. 17 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Gary Tranquill
Defensive coordinator
Dennis Brown

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 2Oliver Luck QBHouston Oilers