1997 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

1997 West Virginia Mountaineers football
1997 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Carquest Bowl, L 30–35 vs. Georgia Tech
Conference	Big East Conference
Record	7–5 (4–3 Big East)
Head coach	Don Nehlen (18th season);
Offensive coordinator	Dan Simrell (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Steve Dunlap (6th season)
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field
	Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

The 1997 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University as a member of the Big East Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 18th-year head coach Don Nehlen, the Mountaineers compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 4–3 in conference play, tying for third place in the Big East. West Virginia was invited to the Carquest Bowl, where the Mountaineers lost to Georgia Tech. The team played home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Quick facts West Virginia Mountaineers football, Carquest Bowl, L 30–35 vs. Georgia Tech ...

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Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	12:00 p.m.	Marshall*		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (Friends of Coal Bowl)	ESPN Plus	W 42–31	65,492	^[1]
September 6	12:30 p.m.	East Carolina*		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	ESPN	W 24–17	51,143	^[2]
September 13	12:00 p.m.	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPN	L 24–31	39,200	^[3]
September 27	3:30 p.m.	at Miami (FL)		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	CBS	W 28–17	39,270	^[4]
October 4	12:00 p.m.	Rutgers		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	ESPN Plus	W 48–0	51,737	^[5]
October 11	1:00 p.m.	at Maryland*		Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)		W 31–14	31,210	^[6]
October 25	3:30 p.m.	No. 19 Virginia Tech	No. 21	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	CBS	W 30–17	63,649	^[7]
November 1	7:30 p.m.	at Syracuse	No. 17	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	ESPN	L 10–40	49,273	^[8]
November 15	1:00 p.m.	Temple		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV		W 41–21	37,061	^[9]
November 22	2:30 p.m.	at Notre Dame*	No. 22	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	NBC	L 14–21	80,225	^[10]
November 28	2:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl)	CBS	L 38–41 ^3OT	48,044	^[11]
December 29	7:30 p.m.	vs. Georgia Tech*		Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, FL (Carquest Bowl)	TBS	L 30–35	28,262	^[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	3	7	21	0	31
• Mountaineers	21	7	0	14	42


1	12:30	WVU	Gary Thompkins 7-yard blocked punt return (Jay Taylor kick)	WVU 7–0
	6:04	WVU	Amos Zereoué 10-yard run (Jay Taylor kick)	WVU 14–0
	2:24	MAR	Billy Malashevich 25-yard field goal	WVU 14–3
	0:02	WVU	Amos Zereoué 52-yard run (Jay Taylor kick)	WVU 21–3

2	10:51	WVU	Curtis Keaton 11-yard run (Jay Taylor kick)	WVU 28–3
2	3:34	MAR	LaVorn Colclough 24-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Billy Malashevich kick)	WVU 28–10

3	13:08	MAR	Randy Moss 15-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Billy Malashevich kick)	WVU 28–17
	9:24	MAR	Llow Turner 53-yard run (Billy Malashevich kick)	WVU 28–24
	0:35	MAR	Randy Moss 25-yard pass from Chad Pennington (Billy Malashevich kick)	MAR 31–28

4	11:07	WVU	Chad Wable 15-yard pass from Marc Bulger (Jay Taylor kick)	WVU 35–31
4	7:56	WVU	Amos Zereoué 1-yard run (Jay Taylor kick)	WVU 42–31

Schedule

1997 Big East Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 21 Syracuse $	6	–	1	9	–	4
Virginia Tech	5	–	2	7	–	5
Pittsburgh	4	–	3	6	–	6
West Virginia	4	–	3	7	–	5
Miami (FL)	3	–	4	5	–	6
Temple	3	–	4	3	–	8
Boston College	3	–	4	4	–	7
Rutgers	0	–	7	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll