1973 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

The 1973 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. It was the Mountaineers' 81st overall season and they competed as an independent. The team was led by head coach Bobby Bowden, in his fourth year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of 6–5.

1973 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Bobby Bowden (4th season)
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field
Seasons ← 1972 1974 →

1973 NCAA Division I independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame			–					11	–	0	–	0
No. 5 Penn State			–					12	–	0	–	0
No. 9 Houston			–					11	–	1	–	0
Temple			–					9	–	1	–	0
No. 20 Tulane			–					9	–	3	–	0
Memphis State			–					8	–	3	–	0
Tampa			–					8	–	3	–	0
Boston College			–					7	–	4	–	0
South Carolina			–					7	–	4	–	0
Utah State			–					7	–	4	–	0
Air Force			–					6	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss			–					6	–	4	–	1
Northern Illinois			–					6	–	5	–	0
Rutgers			–					6	–	5	–	0
West Virginia			–					6	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					6	–	5	–	1
Colgate			–					5	–	5	–	0
Dayton			–					5	–	5	–	1
Xavier			–					5	–	5	–	1
Georgia Tech			–					5	–	6	–	0
Holy Cross			–					5	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					5	–	6	–	0
Cincinnati			–					4	–	7	–	0
Marshall			–					4	–	7	–	0
Navy			–					4	–	7	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					3	–	7	–	1
Villanova			–					3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse			–					2	–	9	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					2	–	9	–	0
Army			–					0	–	10	–	0
Florida State			–					0	–	11	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	at Maryland		Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)	W 20–13	35,112	[1]
September 22	Virginia Tech		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	W 24–10	33,000	[2]
September 29	at Illinois		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 17–10	48,107	[3]
October 6	Indiana	No. 20	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 14–28	37,000	[4]
October 13	Pittsburgh		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	L 7–35	37,000	[5]
October 20	at Richmond		City Stadium Richmond, VA	L 17–38	21,172	[6]
October 27	at No. 5 Penn State		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	L 14–62	59,138	[7]
November 2	at Miami (FL)		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	W 20–14	24,890	[8]
November 10	Boston College		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 13–25	22,500	[9]
November 17	Virginia		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 42–17	26,000	[10]
November 24	at Syracuse		Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	W 24–14	12,917	[11]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1973 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class   Danny Buggs	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Bobby Bowden Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "Danny Buggs scores late for West Virginia, 20–13". The Greenville News. September 16, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "W. Virginia beats Virginia Tech". Sunday News. September 23, 1973. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "West Virginia deals Illini first loss, 17–10". Lansing State Journal. September 30, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Hoosiers rock and roll by 14". Chicago Tribune. October 7, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Pitt crushes W. Virginia, 35–7". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 14, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Richmond defense wins over West Va., 38–17". The Gastonia Gazette. October 21, 1973. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Penn St. blitzes West Va". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 28, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Mountaineers upset Miami". The Roanoke Times. November 3, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "BC runs over W. Virginia, 25–13". The Boston Globe. November 11, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "W. Virginia wallops Virginia". The Pittsburgh Press. November 18, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "West Virginia Mountaineers defeat Syracuse Orangemen". The Beckley Post-Herald & Register. November 25, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.