Game Preview: Duke's Mayo Bowl: West Virginia football vs. North Carolina

West Virginia will travel to Charlotte to play in the Duke's Mayo Bowl against North Carolina with both teams looking to get their ninth win of the season. WVSports.com offers a look at some key elements of the match up to get you ready for kick-off.

In this game preview, we dive into numbers and notes, a depth chart, as well as where you can watch the contest.

Series: Tied 1-1

Last meeting: 2008 WVU 31 UNC 30

Television: 5:30 p.m. ET = ESPN - Matt Barrie (play-by-play), Dan Mullen (analyst), Harry Lyles, Jr. (sideline)

COACHES:

Neal Brown:

WEST VIRGINIA RECORD: 30-29, 5th Year

OVERALL RECORD: 65-45, 9th Year

VS. UNC: First meeting

Mack Brown:

NORTH CAROLINA RECORD: 107–72–1, 15th year

OVERALL RECORD: 282-148-1, 35th Year

VS. WEST VIRGINIA: 2-1

NOTES:

--West Virginia head coach Neal Brown is in his fifth season atop the Mountaineers football program and has gone 30-29 in Morgantown during that time. Overall, Brown is 65-45 as a head coach in his ninth season in that role.

--The Mountaineers are the 15th winningest program of all time.

--West Virginia is 1-1 against North Carolina with both meetings in bowl games. The last meeting between the two was in Meineke Car Care Bowl inside Bank of America Stadium. It was a 31-30 Mountaineers win.

--The Duke's Mayo Bowl is WVU 40th bowl appearance in school history. The Mountaineers are one of 15 Power 5 teams who have reached a bowl game in 19 of the past 22 years

--The Mountaineers are 16-23 all-time in bowl games and 1-1 in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.

--West Virginia has rushed for over 140 yards in 15 straight games, the longest streak in the nation and three more than any other team.

Related: West Virginia is preparing for the knowns and unknowns of UNC's offense

--This marks the third time that WVU has played in the Charlotte-based bowl game, winning 31-30 against UNC in 2008 (Meineke Car Care Bowl) and dropping a contest with Virginia in the inaugural Charlotte bowl game (Continental Tire Bowl) in 2002. WVU also split a pair of regular-season games in the stadium, defeating Tennessee, 40-14, in 2018, and losing 30-23 to East Carolina in 1999

--The Mountaineers have been 99-15 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle.

--West Virginia has 2,812 rushing yards in 2023, ranking No. 1 among Power 5 schools. In Big 12 games, WVU was the only school to finish with more than 2,000 rushing yards (2,211)

--WVU is No. 1 in the Big 12 and tied for No. 2 for fewest sacks allowed per game (9)

--This is the 323rd nationally televised game for West Virginia. All-time, the Mountaineers are 169-152-1 in nationally televised games.

--In the Neal Brown era, the Mountaineers are 26-8 when rushing for at least 100 yards.

--On first down, the Mountaineers have run 377 plays and have gained 2,500 yards for a 6.7 average. On second down, the Mountaineers have run 271 plays for 1,712 yards and a 6.3 average. On third down, the Mountaineers have run 161 plays for 901 yards and a 5.6 average gain. West Virginia has run 34 plays on fourth down for 145 yards and a 4.3 average. WVU’s touchdowns have come 22 times on first down (14 rush/8 pass), 15 times on second down (10 rush/5 pass), eight times on third down (5 rush/3 pass) and three times on fourth down (2 rush/1 pass).

--Breaking down the West Virginia offensive numbers for the 2023 season shows that the Mountaineers have run 843 plays, 535 on the ground and 308 through the air.

--The rushing game has totaled 2,812 yards, an average of 5.3 yards per carry and 31 touchdowns. The passing attack has totaled 2,446 yards, 17 touchdowns and an average of 14.7 yards per completion. Combine the two and the Mountaineers have turned in 5,258 yards of total offense, 48 touchdowns, an average of 6.2 yards per play and an average of 31.6 points per game.

--Deeper analysis shows that the Mountaineer offense has gained 152 first downs by the run and 95 via the pass. On average, West Virginia has totaled 234.3 yards per game on the ground, 203.8 yards per game passing and 438.2 yards per game of total offense.

--Over the last nine years, West Virginia has produced 163 takeaways, No. 39 among Power 5 schools.

--West Virginia is 81-61 all-time against current members of the Big 12 Conference. WVU is 8-4 vs. Baylor; 2-0 against BYU; 17-3-1 vs. Cincinnati; 0-1 against Houston; 6-5 against Iowa State; 10-2 vs. Kansas; 6-7 against Kansas State; 3-11 vs. Oklahoma; 5-11 against Oklahoma State; 8-5 vs. TCU; 6-6 against Texas; 7-6 vs. Texas Tech and 3-0 against UCF.

--Dating back to the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl, played in Charlotte, North Carolina, West Virginia has made 20 bowl appearances in the last 23 years, missing only the 2013, 2019 and 2022 seasons. The Mountaineers are one of 16 Power 5 schools to accomplish that feat.

--In 2023, the Mountaineers have 44 players with at least one game of starting experience.

--Fifteen true freshmen have played for the Mountaineers in 2023: DJ Cotton (DL), Ben Cutter (LB), Oreyend Fisher (DL), Rodney Gallagher III (WR), James Heard Jr. (BAN), Jordan Jackson (CB), Josiah Jackson (CB), Nick Krahe (OL), Corey McIntyre Jr. (DL), DJ Oliver (RB), Aden Tagaloa-Nelson (S), Traylon Ray (WR), Jahiem White (RB), Johnny Williams IV (OL) and Cooper Young (OL).

--Coaching assignments: AHC-OL Matt Moore (Field), OC-RB Chad Scott (Field), DC-OLB Jordan Lesley (Field), Co-DC-DBs ShaDon Brown (Press Box), ST Coordinator-ILB Jeff Koonz (Press Box), PGC-QB Sean Reagan (Press Box), DL Andrew Jackson (Field), WR Bilal Marshall (Field), TE Blaine Stewart (Field) and S Dontae Wright (Field).

--The 2023 roster currently consists of 113 players from 24 different states and four foreign countries: Australia (1), Finland (1), Sweden (1) and The Netherlands (1). Leading the way is West Virginia (19), Florida (13), Pennsylvania (13), Ohio (12), Georgia (8), Kentucky (6), Maryland (5), North Carolina (5), South Carolina (3), New Jersey (3), New York (3), Virginia (3), Alabama (2), Delaware (2), Michigan (2), Texas (2), Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri and Washington.

DEPTH CHART:

No depth chart has been released for this contest but this is our projection.

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