1972 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

1972 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Peach Bowl, L 13–49 vs. NC State
Conference	Independent
Record	8–4
Head coach	Bobby Bowden (3rd season)
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field
Seasons ←  1971 1973  →

1972 NCAA University Division independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 Penn State			–					10	–	2	–	0
No. 14 Notre Dame			–					8	–	3	–	0
Utah State			–					8	–	3	–	0
West Virginia			–					8	–	4	–	0
Florida State			–					7	–	4	–	0
Northern Illinois			–					7	–	4	–	0
Rutgers			–					7	–	4	–	0
No. 20 Georgia Tech			–					7	–	4	–	1
Air Force			–					6	–	4	–	0
Army			–					6	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					6	–	4	–	1
Houston			–					6	–	4	–	1
Tulane			–					6	–	5	–	0
Temple			–					5	–	4	–	0
Colgate			–					5	–	4	–	1
Holy Cross			–					5	–	4	–	1
Syracuse			–					5	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					5	–	6	–	0
Dayton			–					4	–	6	–	1
Boston College			–					4	–	7	–	0
Navy			–					4	–	7	–	0
South Carolina			–					4	–	7	–	0
Southern Miss			–					3	–	7	–	1
Xavier			–					3	–	8	–	0
Marshall			–					2	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati			–					2	–	9	–	0
Villanova			–					2	–	9	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. It was the Mountaineers' 80th overall season and they competed as an independent. The team was led by head coach Bobby Bowden, in his third year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of 8–4 with a loss against NC State in the Peach Bowl.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9		Villanova		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 25–6	33,500	[1]
September 16		Richmond		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 28–7	31,000	[2]
September 23		at Virginia		Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 48–10	27,000	[3]
September 30	4:30 p.m.	at No. 19 Stanford	No. 20	Stanford Stadium Palo Alto, CA	L 35–41	56,000	[4]
October 7		William & Mary		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 49–34	28,000	[5]
October 14		at Temple		Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	L 36–39	13,067	[6]
October 21		Tulane		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 31–19	29,500	[7]
October 28		No. 11 Penn State	No. T–18	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	L 19–28	37,000	[8]
November 4		at Pittsburgh		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	W 38–20	40,286	[9]
November 11		VMI		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 50–24	21,000	[10]
November 18		Syracuse		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	W 43–12	31,500	[11]
December 29		vs. NC State	No. 18	Atlanta Stadium Atlanta, GA (Peach Bowl)	L 13–49	52,671	[12]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1972 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR  8 Danny Buggs So QB  12 Bernie Galiffa Sr RB  32 Kerry Marbury Jr WR  9 Marshall Mills So OG  78 Walt Bragg Jr OT  72 Dan Larcamp Jr C  57 Gerald Schultze Sr OG  68 Doug Stevens So OT  60 Bill Samuelson Sr TE  88 Nate Stephens Sr FB  44 Brian Chiles Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE  89 Bob Sims Sr DT  77 Dennis Reid Sr DT  90 Jeff Merrow So DT  73 Frank Samsa Sr LB  63 Tom Zakowski Sr LB  50 Billy Joe Mantooth Sr LB  84 Bruce Huffman So DB  20 Rick Weiskircher Sr DB  23 Tom Geishauser Sr DB  18 David Morris Sr DB  10 Doug Charley Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class
K	41	Steve Soroka	Sr
Head coach Bobby Bowden Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "W. Virginia zips behind 6 boots, 25–6". The Des Moines Register. September 10, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "West Virginia romps over Richmond by 28–7 margin". The Danville Register. September 17, 1972. Retrieved October 28, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
3. "West Virginia's bombs upend Virginia, 48–10". Florida Today. September 24, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Stanford fights back West Virginia, 41–35". The Lincoln Star. October 1, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Mounties outscore Indians". The News and Observer. October 8, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. Allen Lewis (October 15, 1972). "Temple Nips W. Va. On Late Punt Return". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 1D, 10D – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Turn-about, WVU converts Tulane mistakes into important 31–19 victory". Sunday Gazette-Mail. October 22, 1972. Retrieved October 15, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Penn St. rallies to nip WVa". The Sacramento Bee. October 29, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "West Virginia rolls with Kerry Marbury". The Roanoke Times. November 5, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "W. Virginia beats VMI by 50 to 24". The Danville Register. November 12, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "West Virginia crushes Syracuse". Winston-Salem Journal & Sentinel. November 19, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "West Virginia joy silenced". The Atlanta Journal. December 30, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024– via Newspapers.com.