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1986 West Virginia Mountaineers football
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

^ "NIU gains respect, and another loss". Chicago Tribune. September 7, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "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.
^ "Maryland staggers W. Virginia". The Akron Beacon Journal. September 21, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Panthers rip West Virginia". The Lima News. September 28, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Hokies defeat West Virginia 13–7". Greensboro News & Record. October 5, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "'Canes barely break a sweat, 58–14". The Palm Beach Post. October 12, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "BC stops W. Va., 19–10". The Boston Globe. October 26, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Lions' defense stifles W. Virginia". The Daily News. November 2, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Rutgers shocked by WVa., 24–17". Daily Record. November 9, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mountaineers thrash U of L 42–19". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 16, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "McPherson directs SU comeback, 34–23". Democrat and Chronicle. November 23, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1986 West Virginia Mountaineers Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 31, 2024.