1977 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

1977 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	Frank Cignetti Sr. (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Joe Pendry (2nd season)
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field
Seasons ←  1976 1978  →

1977 NCAA Division I independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Penn State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Colgate		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
North Texas State *		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
No. 16 San Diego State		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				8	–	1	–	1
No. 14 Florida State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Pittsburgh		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
East Carolina		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Army		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Louisville		–		–				7	–	4	–	1
Boston College		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				5	–	4	–	2
Georgia Tech		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Northwestern State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Temple		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Hawaii		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Navy		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	7	–	0
Utah State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Villanova		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Virginia Tech		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Miami (FL)		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Richmond		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Tulane		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Air Force		–		–				2	–	8	–	1
Holy Cross		–		–				2	–	8	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
North Texas State (originally 9–2) awarded a forfeit win after Mississippi State was found to be using an ineligible player. [1] Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. It was the Mountaineers' 85th overall season and they competed as an independent. The team was led by head coach Frank Cignetti Sr., in his second-year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record 5–6.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	Richmond	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 36–0	35,545	[2]
September 17	at No. 11 Maryland	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)	W 24–16	45,123	[3]
September 24	at Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	L 13–28	57,796	[4]
October 1	at Virginia	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 13–0	21,500	[5]
October 8	Temple	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 38–16	32,822	[6]
October 15	Boston College	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 24–28	36,211	[7]
October 22	at No. 10 Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	L 28–49	62,108	[8]
October 29	Villanova	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 36–41	31,175	[9]
November 5	No. 12 Pittsburgh	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	L 3–44	37,031	[10]
November 12	Virginia Tech	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	W 20–14	29,041	[11]
November 19	at Syracuse	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	L 9–28	16,118	[12]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1977 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB Robert Alexander Fr RB 37 Terry Bowden Sr FB 46 Walter Easley So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 22 Tom Pridemore Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Frank Cignetti Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
2. "West Virginia's offense too much for Richmond, 36–0". Pensacola News Journal. September 11, 1977. Retrieved October 28, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
3. "West Virginia stuns Terps". The Charlotte Observer. September 18, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Kentucky plows over W. Virginia". The Tampa Tribune-Times. September 25, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Cavaliers prove stubborn". The Lynchburg News. October 2, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "WVU coach is happy with substitutes". Beckley Post-Herald & Register. October 9, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "BC Bowls Over Mounties, 28–24". The Pittsburgh Press. October 16, 1977. p. D4 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Lions crush Mountaineers". The Times Recorder. October 23, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Villanova upsets West Virginia 41–35". Sunday News. October 30, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Pitt rolls by 44–3". The Tampa Tribune. November 6, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Alexander's great again, 20–14". Sunday Gazette-Mail. November 13, 1977. Retrieved December 14, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Monk carries the load". Democrat and Chronicle. November 20, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.