1989 William & Mary Tribe football team

The 1989 William & Mary Tribe football team represented the College of William & Mary as an independent during the 1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by Jimmye Laycock in his tenth year as head coach, William & Mary finished the season with a record of 8–3–1 and ranked No. 10 in the final NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll. The Tribe qualified for the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, losing to Furman in the first round.^[1]

1989 William & Mary Tribe football
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 10–24 at Furman
Conference	Independent
Record	8–3–1
Head coach	Jimmye Laycock (10th season)
Captains	Craig Argo Greg Kimball
Home stadium	Cary Field
Seasons ← 1988 1990 →

1989 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Georgia Southern ^			–					15	–	0	–	0
No. 14 Youngstown State ^			–					9	–	4	–	0
No. T–10 William & Mary ^			–					8	–	3	–	1
Liberty			–					7	–	3	–	0
Western Kentucky			–					6	–	5	–	0
James Madison			–					5	–	4	–	1
Lamar			–					5	–	5	–	0
Arkansas State			–					5	–	6	–	0
Nicholls State			–					5	–	6	–	0
Samford			–					5	–	6	–	0
Northeastern			–					3	–	7	–	0
Fordham			–					2	–	6	–	0
Towson State			–					2	–	8	–	0
^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	Colgate	No. 20	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	W 17–13	10,384	[2]
September 16	at VMI	No. 20	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA (rivalry)	W 24–17	4,826	[3]
September 23	at Princeton	No. T–15	Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ	T 31–31	4,138	[4]
September 30	at Virginia	No. 19	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	L 12–24	35,000	[5]
October 7	No. 14 Delaware		Cary Field Williamsburg, VA (rivalry)	W 27–24	14,397	[6]
October 14	vs. Boston University	No. T–13	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA (Oyster Bowl)	W 13–10		[7]
October 21	at Villanova	No. 12	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	L 17–20	9,857	[8]
October 28	at Lehigh		Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 55–39	10,824	[9]
November 4	East Tennessee State	No. 17	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	W 34–28		[10]
November 11	James Madison	No. 12	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA (rivalry)	W 24–21	12,420	[11]
November 18	Richmond	No. 11	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA (I-64 Bowl)	W 22–10	13,110	[12]
November 25	at No. 2 Furman	No. T–10	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	L 10–24	8,642	[13]
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game