6:00: Morning News

Nehlen recalls ’82 upset in Norman

Nobody seems to be giving WVU much of a chance against Oklahoma Saturday. The Mountaineers are three-touchdown underdogs to the Sooners.

But longtime Mountaineers fans will remember a similar scenario the last time WVU went to Norman, Okla., for a football game.  It was Sept. 11, 1982 when Don Nehlen and the Mountaineers met the ninth-ranked Sooners.

“They were always a top-10 football team and we were still trying to grow as a football team,” remembered Nehlen, who was in just his third year as WVU’s coach.

However, Nehlen knew he had a talent-laden team, including a surprise at quarterback, his future son-in-law Jeff Hostetler, who was starting his first game after transferring from Penn State and sitting out a year.  The coach was more optimistic than the odds makers and many of the fans.

“We thought we had a chance because we thought they would overlook us,” Nehlen told me this week.

It didn’t seem like that early. Oklahoma jumped out to a 14-0 lead. But Nehlen had warned his team about a probable fast start by the Sooners, so no one on the sidelines gave up.

“I told our kids that as long as we can go in at halftime down by no more than 10 points, we’re going to win the game,” Nehlen remembered.

They did better than the coach expected. The Mountaineers responded with 20 second quarter points, with one touchdown coming after a daring onside kick by Paul Woodside that was recovered by the Mountaineers.

The Mountaineers were ahead 20-13 at the half and Nehlen said it was pandemonium in the locker room.  “They were banging their helmets on the lockers and yelling, ‘we got ‘em, coach!’ We had a hard time even talking to them.”

But the game was far from over. Oklahoma scored first in the second half to take the lead.  The Mountaineers retook the lead on a touchdown run by Curlin Beck. Oklahoma blocked a punt for a touchdown, but missed the extra point.

With the game tied at 27, Hostetler threw a touchdown pass to Darrell Miller, and then the Mountaineers sealed the win with 43-yard touchdown run by Beck.

West Virginia’s 41-27 decision remains one of the most important victories in WVU football history.

“It pretty much established us as a top 25 program,” Nehlen said. “The Oklahoma game gave us great credibility, no question about it.”

The former coach and his quarterback/son-in-law will be at the game Saturday.  WVU Athletic Director Oliver Luck invited Nehlen and Hostetler to jump on the team plane and return to the historic venue.

The 2013 Mountaineers weren’t even born when Nehlen, Hostetler and company scored the big upset, but perhaps having them along is a good sign. It’s a reminder that when players get coached up, the improbable can happen.

 

 





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