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1983 West Virginia

9–⁠3, coached by Don Nehlen, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

West Virginia in 1983, game by game: won vs. Ohio 55–3; won vs. Pacific 48–7; won at No. 17 Maryland 31–21; won at No. 19 Boston College 27–17; won vs. Pittsburgh 24–21; won vs. Virginia Tech 13–0; lost at Penn State 23–41; lost at No. 7 Miami 3–20; won vs. Temple 27–9; won vs. Rutgers 35–7; lost at Syracuse 16–27; won vs. Kentucky 20–16+52−18Won 55–3 vs. Ohio+52OhioWon 48–7 vs. Pacific+41PacificWon 31–21 at No. 17 Maryland+10No. 17 MarylandWon 27–17 at No. 19 Boston College+10No. 19 Boston CollegeWon 24–21 vs. Pittsburgh+3PittsburghWon 13–0 vs. Virginia Tech+13Virginia TechLost 23–41 at Penn State-18Penn StateLost 3–20 at No. 7 Miami-17No. 7 MiamiWon 27–9 vs. Temple+18TempleWon 35–7 vs. Rutgers+28RutgersLost 16–27 at Syracuse-11SyracuseWon 20–16 vs. Kentucky+4Kentucky
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsOhioW 55–⁠377%
Sep 10vsPacificW 48–⁠782%
Sep 17at17MarylandW 31–⁠2144%
Sep 24at19Boston CollegeW 27–⁠1747%
Oct 1vsPittsburghW 24–⁠2162%
Oct 15vsVirginia TechW 13–⁠075%
Oct 22atPenn StateL 23–⁠4148%
Oct 29at7MiamiL 3–⁠2038%
Nov 5vsTempleW 27–⁠982%
Nov 12vsRutgersW 35–⁠785%
Nov 19atSyracuseL 16–⁠2767%
Dec 22Bowls & playoffvsKentuckyHall of Fame ClassicW 20–⁠1673%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Kentucky 20–⁠16 in the Hall of Fame Classic; No. 16 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 15th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 20
  2. Wk 4: 12
  3. Wk 5: 7
  4. Wk 6: 5
  5. Wk 7: 4
  6. Wk 8: 4
  7. Wk 9: 12
  8. Wk 10: 17
  9. Wk 11: 15
  10. Wk 12: 14
  11. Wk 13: 19
  12. Wk 14: 18
  13. Wk 15: 18
  14. Final: 16

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 1983.

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
4–⁠2 2nd in the Major eastern college football independents (Wikipedia)
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 4
Points
322–⁠189
Coach
Don Nehlen
Elo
1652 +46 this season
SP+ rating
16.1 No. 19 of 108; offense No. 26, defense No. 16
SRS
12.6 No. 20 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Dennis Brown

Drafted in 1984

The 1984 draft
Rd 3Jeff Hostetler QBNew York Giants