1997 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

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1997 West Virginia Mountaineers football team - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1997 West Virginia Mountaineers football

Carquest Bowl, L 30–35 vs. Georgia Tech
Conference	Big East Conference
Record	7–5 (4–3 Big East)
Head coach	Don Nehlen (18th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dan Simrell (3th season)
Defensive coordinator	Steve Dunlap (6th season)
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field (Capacity: 63,500)
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Big East Conference football standings
v t e
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

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	12:00 p.m.	Marshall*		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (Friends of Coal Bowl)	ESPN Plus	W 42–31	65,492	^[1]
September 6	12:30 p.m.	East Carolina*		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	ESPN	W 24–17	51,143	^[2]
September 13	12:00 p.m.	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPN	L 24–31	39,200	^[3]
September 27	3:30 p.m.	at Miami (FL)		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	CBS	W 28–17	39,270	^[4]
October 4	12:00 p.m.	Rutgers		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	ESPN Plus	W 48–0	51,737	^[5]
October 11	1:00 p.m.	at Maryland*		Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)		W 31–14	31,210	^[6]
October 25	3:30 p.m.	No. 19 Virginia Tech	No. 21	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	CBS	W 30–17	63,649	^[7]
November 1	7:30 p.m.	at Syracuse	No. 17	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	ESPN	L 10–40	49,273	^[8]
November 15	1:00 p.m.	Temple		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV		W 41–21	37,061	^[9]
November 22	2:30 p.m.	at Notre Dame*	No. 22	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	NBC	L 14–21	80,225	^[10]
November 28	2:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl)	CBS	L 38–41 ^3OT	48,044	^[11]
December 29	7:30 p.m.	vs. Georgia Tech*		Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, FL (Carquest Bowl)	TBS	L 30–35	28,262	^[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	23	21	17	—	—	22	—	—	—	—
Coaches	—		—	24	—	—	—	24	22	20	17	22	23	21	—	—	—	—

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

Don Nehlen

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries

Marshall

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	3	7	21	0	31
• Mountaineers	21	7	0	14	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

1	12:30	WVU	Gary Thompkins 7-yard blocked punt return (Jay Taylor kick)	WVU 7–0
	6:04	WVU	Amos Zereoué 10-yard run (Jay Taylor kick)	WVU 14–0
	2:24	MAR	Billy Malashevich 25-yard field goal	WVU 14–3
	0:02	WVU	Amos Zereoué 52-yard run (Jay Taylor kick)	WVU 21–3

2	10:51	WVU	Curtis Keaton 11-yard run (Jay Taylor kick)	WVU 28–3
2	3:34	MAR	LaVorn Colclough 24-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Billy Malashevich kick)	WVU 28–10

3	13:08	MAR	Randy Moss 15-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Billy Malashevich kick)	WVU 28–17
	9:24	MAR	Llow Turner 53-yard run (Billy Malashevich kick)	WVU 28–24
	0:35	MAR	Randy Moss 25-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Billy Malashevich kick)	MAR 31–28

4	11:07	WVU	Chad Wable 15-yard pass from Marc Bulger (Jay Taylor kick)	WVU 35–31
4	7:56	WVU	Amos Zereoué 1-yard run (Jay Taylor kick)	WVU 42–31

^[13]

Maryland

Virginia Tech

Syracuse

Pittsburgh

Georgia Tech (Carquest Bowl)

References

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

v t e West Virginia Mountaineers football
Venues	Mountaineer Field (1924–1979) Milan Puskar Stadium (1980–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Cincinnati Marshall: Friends of Coal Bowl Maryland Old Ironsides Penn State Pittsburgh: Backyard Brawl Syracuse Virginia Tech
Culture & lore	The Mountaineer Marching band "Take Me Home, Country Roads" 2007 Backyard Brawl
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

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