The College Football Playoff was introduced to the college sports world in 2014. Prior to the College Football Playoff, there was the BCS National Championship. In my lifetime I was raised with the BCS era and now happily watch the College Football Playoff era. Looking through the history of national championships and seeing who has won the most, I pondered the question of “who is the most winning team with no championship?”. Arguments can be made for many teams but unfortunately one team stuck out more than others, the West Virginia Mountaineers. Taking a look back at the history of my alma mater, I wondered what was the closest the Mountaineers got to winning it all.
1988 National Championship Appearance
West Virginia has been so close to winning it all, with the 1988 season being the most notable. The Mountaineers started the season ranked 16 in the country, with the first game taking place in Morgantown against Bowling Green. The game was a blowout as the Mountaineers won in tremendous fashion, 62 to 14. With such a dominant win over Bowling Green, the Mountaineers were now ranked at number 12 in the country.
The following week, Cal State Fullerton traveled to West Virginia to get beat 45 to 10. With the third straight home game of the season, the Mountaineers took on Maryland. The Terrapins were no match for West Virginia, as the Mountaineers won 55 to 24. West Virginia found themselves now ranked at number 11 in the country with the Backyard Brawl coming the following week.
Traveling to Pittsburgh to take on the number 16 ranked Panthers, the Mountaineers had their first big test of the season. As every West Virginia and Pittsburgh fan knows, this rivalry is deep rooted and there is a true hatred between these teams. With 55,978 people in attendance, West Virginia was able to stomp on Pittsburgh and win 31 to 10. West Virginia was reward with a new ranking at seven in the country.
Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, VA was the next sight the Mountaineers would travel too. West Virginia was set to take on rivals Virginia Tech for the Black Diamond Trophy. There isn’t a more blue collar, gritty game than the Black Diamond Trophy game. Closer than most Mountaineer fans wanted it to be; West Virginia won the game 22 to 10. For the third consecutive week, West Virginia would be traveling to their opponent. This time the Mountaineers would take on East Carolina. Winning 30 to 10, West Virginia was now undefeated with six wins and ranked six in the country.
Boston College travelled to Morgantown to experience Mountaineer nation and see what it felt like to lose to a strong West Virginia team. West Virginia won 59 to 19 and felt confident going into their game against Penn State. 66,811 people were in attendance at Mountaineer Field to witness the 51 to 30 win over Penn State. The West Virginia Mountaineers would now prepare for two away games before their final regular season game of the season.
The Mountaineers first stop was against Cincinnati, where West Virginia won 51 to 13. After a comfortable win over Cincinnati, West Virginia travelled to East Rutherford, NJ to take on Rutgers. A close game ending 35 to 25, the Mountaineers were able to take the win over Rutgers. With 10 wins and no losses on the season, West Virginia would take on number 14 ranked Syracuse in Morgantown.
As a West Virginia alumni, I was shocked to find out there was a rivalry among these two teams. The two teams would play for the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy, which was named after West Virginia football alumni and Syracuse Coach Ben Schwartzwalder. The most recent meeting among these two teams was in 2018 at the Camping World Bowl Game where the trophy was not present. When West Virginia took on Syracuse on November 19th, 1988 the trophy was present and West Virginia won 31 to nine. Finishing undefeated with a win over Syracuse, West Virginia was now ranked number three in the country.
West Virginia had secured a spot in the Fiesta Bowl (the national championship for the 1988 season). Number three ranked Mountaineers were set to go against the top ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Fiesta Bowl had an attendance of 74,911 and featured Notre Dame as the five point favorites. West Virginia was unable to obtain the lead against Notre Dame. At halftime, the Mountaineers were down 23 to six. West Virginia was able to shorten the lead but was unable to secure the win, losing to Notre Dame 34 to 21.
So Close Yet So Far
Another season that comes to mind when thinking about national championships is the 1993 season. West Virginia was able to go undefeated in the regular season like the 1988 team. West Virginia was not chosen for the national championship but, would take on Florida in the Sugar Bowl. 75,437 people were in attendance to see the Mountaineers get dominated in a seven to 41 loss.
2007 is a year that also stands out for many West Virginia fans. This season did not see heart break in a bowl game, rather during the season the Mountaineers saw struggle. With 11 wins and one loss going into the final game of the regular season, West Virginia was a major favorite to win against their rival Pittsburgh. Many saw this game as an easy win, and with a win the team had a real shot at a national championship appearance. West Virginia did not play like the team that was seen on the field in the weeks prior. Pittsburgh upset West Virginia, and won 13 to nine. A loss against Pittsburgh also wiped all hopes of a national championship away. The Mountaineers went on to face Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl and won 48 to 28.
These two seasons stand out as being dominant West Virginia teams that were unable to obtain a national championship appearance. With a team like West Virginia that means so much to the great people of the Mountain State, it is hard to go through the history of heart aches they faced. With pain comes strength, West Virginians are strong people and know they can bounce back and never lose faith in their team.
The Big Picture
West Virginia has the 15th most wins of all teams in college football. With a win rate of 59.5% they have a history of winning and being dominant over 129 years of playing college football at the university. Of the other teams with as many wins as West Virginia, the Mountaineers are the only ones to never win a national championship. Looking into the many national championships there have been, it is astonishing to not see the Mountaineers as national champions.
It is almost like there is a curse, any time West Virginia has gotten close to a national championship their chances are stripped away. As a Mountaineer fan, I can only hope a stat like this brings in a team hungry to win and push for a national championship in my lifetime. With NIL now in play, college football is a different landscape than it was in the many years prior. Maybe we can get those big recruits and earn a national championship in the future. For the time being I’ll support the West Virginia no matter what, let’s go Mountaineers!
