1986 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

1986 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Conference	Independent
Record	4–7
Head coach	Don Nehlen (7th season)
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field (Capacity: 63,500)
Seasons ←  1985 1987  →

1986 Major eastern college football independents records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Penn State $	6	–	0	–	0			12	–	0	–	0
No. 19 Boston College	3	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Syracuse	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Temple	2	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
Rutgers	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
West Virginia	1	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll

1986 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Penn State		–		–				12	–	0	–	0
No. 2 Miami (FL)		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 20 Virginia Tech		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
No. 19 Boston College		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Tulsa		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Florida State		–		–				7	–	4	–	1
Army		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Temple		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Rutgers		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				3	–	6	–	2
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Louisville		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Navy		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Wichita State		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Northern Illinois		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1986 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Mountaineers' 94th overall season and they competed as a Division I-A Independent. The team was led by head coach Don Nehlen, in his seventh year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of four wins and seven losses (4–7 overall).

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	Northern Illinois	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 47–14	56,665	[1]
September 13	at East Carolina	Ficklen Memorial Stadium Greenville, NC	W 24–21	33,857	[2]
September 20	Maryland	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	L 3–24	63,500	[3]
September 27	at Pittsburgh	Three Rivers Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (Backyard Brawl)	L 16–48	55,129	[4]
October 4	at Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	L 7–13	50,000	[5]
October 11	No. 1 Miami (FL)	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 14–58	63,500	[6]
October 25	Boston College	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 10–19	47,760	[7]
November 1	No. 2 Penn State	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	L 0–19	59,184	[8]
November 8	at Rutgers	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ	W 24–17	15,101	[9]
November 15	at Louisville	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	W 42–19	21,834	[10]
November 22	Syracuse	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	L 23–34	40,106	[11]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[12]

Roster

1986 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Grantis Bell Fr RB 3 John Holifield Sr WR 7 John Talley Jr QB 13 Ben Reed Jr QB 17 Mike Timko Jr FB 20 Craig Taylor So G 75 John Stroia So OT 79 Brian Smider So TE 81 Keith Winn So WR 82 Calvin Phillips So TE 83 Gary Basil Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 22 Bo Orlando So DT 61 Mike Fox Fr DE 87 Renaldo Turnbull Fr DT 98 David Grant Jr DT 99 Jeff Lucas Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 8 Charlie Baumann So	Head coach Don Nehlen Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "NIU gains respect, and another loss". Chicago Tribune. September 7, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "It wasn't pretty...but WVU will take its 24–21 victory". The Pittsburgh Press. September 14, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Maryland staggers W. Virginia". The Akron Beacon Journal. September 21, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Panthers rip West Virginia". The Lima News. September 28, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Hokies defeat West Virginia 13–7". Greensboro News & Record. October 5, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "'Canes barely break a sweat, 58–14". The Palm Beach Post. October 12, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "BC stops W. Va., 19–10". The Boston Globe. October 26, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Lions' defense stifles W. Virginia". The Daily News. November 2, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Rutgers shocked by WVa., 24–17". Daily Record. November 9, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Mountaineers thrash U of L 42–19". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 16, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "McPherson directs SU comeback, 34–23". Democrat and Chronicle. November 23, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "1986 West Virginia Mountaineers Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 31, 2024.