# 1982 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

The 1982 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Mountaineers' 90th overall season and they competed as a Division I-A Independent. The team was led by head coach Don Nehlen, in his third year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of nine wins and three losses (9–3 overall) and with a loss against Florida State in the Gator Bowl.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 11 | at No. 9 Oklahoma | | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 41–27 | 75,008 |
| September 18 | Maryland | No. 17 | Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV (rivalry) | | W 19–18 | 56,042 |
| September 25 | Richmond | No. 15 | Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV | | W 43–10 | 48,461 |
| October 2 | at No. 2 Pittsburgh | No. 14 | Pitt StadiumPittsburgh, PA (rivalry) | ABC | L 13–16 | 57,250 |
| October 9 | No. 19 Boston College | No. 16 | Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV | | W 20–13 | 55,554 |
| October 16 | at Virginia Tech | No. 13 | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA (rivalry) | | W 16–6 | 52,300 |
| October 23 | No. 9 Penn State | No. 13 | Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV (rivalry) | | L 0–24 | 60,958 |
| October 30 | East Carolina | No. 18 | Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV | | W 30–3 | 50,616 |
| November 6 | at Temple | No. 17 | Veterans StadiumPhiladelphia, PA | | W 20–17 | 28,968 |
| November 11 | at Rutgers | No. 19 | Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJ | TBS | W 44–17 | 27,132 |
| November 20 | Syracuse | No. 16 | Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV (rivalry) | | W 26–0 | 48,456 |
| December 30 | vs. Florida State | No. 10 | Gator Bowl StadiumJacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl) | ABC | L 12–31 | 80,913 |
| Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||||

## Season recap

Jeff Hostetler was the starting quarterback for the Mountaineers, leading the team with 1916 passing yards and 10 touchdowns. Leading the team in rushing was Curlin Beck, with 357 net yards. Darrell Miller led the team in receiving with 34 receptions for 565 yards.
The first game featured the Mountaineers against No. 9 Oklahoma. Though the team was losing by two touchdowns, the Mountaineers came back to upset the Sooners in Norman, 41–27. That was followed up with a 19–18 home victory over rival Maryland. The third game against Richmond was a blowout, in which the Mountaineers won 43–10.
Their first loss of the season came to their rival Pittsburgh, in the Backyard Brawl. Despite the loss, this was a breakout game for All-American linebacker Darryl Talley. He intercepted a Dan Marino pass and blocked a punt for a safety in West Virginia's 16–13 loss to the No. 2-rated Panthers. The 1982 game was one of just five times that both teams were nationally ranked: Pitt was rated No. 2 and West Virginia was No. 14 after their upset wins over Oklahoma and Maryland.
The Mountaineers rebounded with a 20–13 win over Boston College, and future NFL quarterback Doug Flutie. WVU traveled to Blacksburg to take on rival Virginia Tech, in a game in which the Mountaineers won 16–6.
The next week, the Mountaineers hosted the number 1 team in the nation, the Penn State Nittany Lions. Penn State's dominance continued, and they won in a 24–0 shutout. WVU rebounded once again with a blowout of its own against East Carolina, 30–3. The Mountaineers then traveled to Philadelphia, to take on Temple, where they narrowly won, 20–17.
West Virginia closed out the season with wins over Rutgers and Syracuse. The team finished with a 9–2 record, ranking No. 10. West Virginia was invited to the 1982 Gator Bowl against Florida State in Jacksonville, which they lost 31-12. Their final rankings were No. 19 in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll.

## Awards and honors

* Darryl Talley, All-America selection