CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 West Virginia

7–⁠5 (4–⁠3 Big East), coached by Don Nehlen.

Schedule and results

West Virginia in 1997, game by game: won vs. Marshall 42–31; won vs. East Carolina 24–17; lost at Boston College 24–31; won at Miami 28–17; won vs. Rutgers 48–0; won at Maryland 31–14; won vs. No. 19 Virginia Tech 30–17; lost at Syracuse 10–40; won vs. Temple 41–21; lost at Notre Dame 14–21; lost vs. Pittsburgh 38–41; lost vs. Georgia Tech 30–35+48−30Won 42–31 vs. Marshall+11MarshallWon 24–17 vs. East Carolina+7East CarolinaLost 24–31 at Boston College-7Boston CollegeWon 28–17 at Miami+11MiamiWon 48–0 vs. Rutgers+48RutgersWon 31–14 at Maryland+17MarylandWon 30–17 vs. No. 19 Virginia Tech+13No. 19 Virginia TechLost 10–40 at Syracuse-30SyracuseWon 41–21 vs. Temple+20TempleLost 14–21 at Notre Dame-7Notre DameLost 38–41 vs. Pittsburgh-3PittsburghLost 30–35 vs. Georgia Tech-5Georgia Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsMarshallW 42–⁠3186%
Sep 6vsEast CarolinaW 24–⁠1753%
Sep 13atBoston CollegeL 24–⁠3163%
Sep 27atMiamiW 28–⁠1737%
Oct 4vsRutgersW 48–⁠086%
Oct 11atMarylandW 31–⁠1463%
Oct 25vs19Virginia TechW 30–⁠1749%
Nov 1atSyracuseL 10–⁠4039%
Nov 15vsTempleW 41–⁠2186%
Nov 22atNotre DameL 14–⁠2143%
Nov 28vsPittsburghL 38–⁠4174%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsGeorgia TechCarquest BowlL 30–⁠3558%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Georgia Tech 35–⁠30 in the Carquest Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big East.

In program history: The 46th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 9: 23
  2. Wk 10: 21
  3. Wk 11: 17
  4. Wk 14: 22

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 1997.

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Big East
AP final
Unranked peak No. 17
Points
360–⁠285
Coach
Don Nehlen
Elo
1557 +8 this season
SP+ rating
5.1 No. 50 of 112; offense No. 38, defense No. 63
SRS
2.0 No. 52 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Dan Simrell
Defensive coordinator
Steve Dunlap

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 7Henry Slay DTAtlanta Falcons

All-Big East

7 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Eric de GrohOLCoaches-2
  • John HadleyLBCoaches-2
  • Jay TaylorKCoaches-2

From Wikipedia’s 1997 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1997 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Syracuse6–⁠19–⁠421
Virginia Tech5–⁠27–⁠5
West Virginia4–⁠37–⁠5
Pittsburgh4–⁠36–⁠6
Miami3–⁠45–⁠6
Boston College3–⁠44–⁠7
Temple3–⁠43–⁠8
Rutgers0–⁠70–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.