Mountaineers kick off 125th season
MORGANTOWN — West Virginia’s 26-11 victory over Missouri on Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium marked the 125th football season for the Mountaineers.
WVU celebrated in style by honoring past legends and current students prior to the noon kickoff in front of 60,125 fans clad in gold at Mountaineer Field.
The Mountaineers met the Tigers for the sixth time and evened the series at 3-3. Prior to Saturday’s win, the last time West Virginia faced Missouri was a 34-31 loss in the 1998 Insight.com Bowl in Tuscon, Arizona.
The Moutaineers defeated the Tigers, 35-3, in Morgantown in 1993, and 34-10 in Columbia the following year.
The first game of the series was in 1926, when Missouri earned a 27-0 victory over WVU at Old Mountaineer Field. The Tigers followed that up with another shutout (13-0) the following year in Columbia.
The last time WVU hosted a Southeastern Conference (SEC) opponent was in 2011 when it suffered a 47-21 setback to LSU.
Saturday’s opener was the first time since 1962 that WVU hosted an SEC opponent in its opener. The Mountaineers defeated Vanderbilt, 26-0, to open that season. West Virginia improved to 25-25-2 all-tme against SEC teams.
The Mountaineers are 98-19-6 in home openers since 1891, including a 32-4-1 at Milan Puskar Stadium. WVU has won 13 straight home openers, dating back to a 24-17 loss to Wisconsin in 2003. Coach Dana Holgorsen is 6-0 in those games.
BOSLEY’S NO. 77 RETIRED: Bruce Bosley’s No. 77 was retired in a ceremony before the start of the second quarter. Bosley, who died on Apr. 26, 1995, joined Sam Huff (No. 75) and Ira Errett Rodgers (No. 21) as the only WVU players to have their number retired.
The Green Bank, West Virginia, native was a four-year letterwinner for WVU from 1952-55 and was named to 12 All-America teams, including consensus honors in 1955. The two-way tackle is a member of WVU’s all-time team from 1950-59.
Bosley was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 1956 NFL Draft and started at defensive end in his rookie season. He moved to offensive guard and center in 1962. Bosley served as team captain in 1967 and 1968 before retiring as a member of the Atlanta Falcons in 1969.
Bosley worked as a home builder and co-owned a electric supply house following his football careeer. He was known for his charitable endeavours, and lived in San Francisco until his death.
ALL-BIG 12 ACCOLADES: Nine Mountaineers have been tabbed from different publications as preseason All-Big 12 performers. Those recognized are: Dravon Askew-Henry (S), Kyle Bosch (OL), Christian Brown (DL), Shelton Gibson (WR), Josh Lambert (K), Noble Nwachukwu (DL), Tyler Orlosky (OL), Adam Pankey (OL) and Rushel Shell (RB).
WVU OLYMPIANS HONORED: West Virginia University honored its four Olympians in a halftime ceremony. Ginny Thrasher led the group after winning gold for the United States in the 10-meter air rifle. Thrasher, who is part of WVU’s powerhouse rifle team that won the NCAA title last season, earned the first medal in the entire Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero on Aug. 6. The 19-year-old also competed in the 50-meter air rifle three positions, but didn’t qualify for the finals.
WVU’s Kedeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence were recognized for being part of Canada’s bronze-medal winning women’s soccer team at Rio.
Olympic gold medalist Nicco Campriani, who won the 10-meter air rifle and the 50-meter air rifle three positions for Italy at the Rio Games, is a West Virginia graduate that was honored for his success.
UNIFORM COMBOS: To celebrate its 125 years of football, West Virginia’s helmets featured a decal commemorating the accomplishment. The Mountaineers will continue to wear a smaller version of the sticker on the backs of their helmets for the remainder of the season.
WVU wore gold jerseys, white pants and a white helmet to harken back to the late 1960s.
HONORARY CAPTAIN: Liberty, West Virginia, native Louis Birurakis, who played guard for the Mountaineers and is the one of their oldest living football alums, was the honorary captain. Birurakis lettered for WVU in 1944, 48-49-50.