Game Preview: West Virginia football at Houston
Fresh off a bye week, West Virginia (4-1) is back on the road for a matchup against former head coach Dana Holgorsen and Houston. 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, our video preview of the game as well as where to can watch the contest.
Series: 0-0
Last meeting: First meeting
Television: 7 p.m. FS1, Tim Brando (PBP), Spencer Tillman (analyst)
COACHES:
Neal Brown:
WEST VIRGINIA RECORD: 26-26, 5th Year
OVERALL RECORD: 61-42, 9th Year
VS. HOUSTON: 0-0
Dana Holgorsen:
Houston RECORD: 29-23, 5th Year
OVERALL RECORD: 90-64, 13th Year
VS. WEST VIRGINIA: 0-0
NOTES:
--West Virginia head coach Neal Brown is in his fifth season atop the Mountaineers football program and has gone 26-26 in Morgantown during that time. Overall, Brown is 61-42 as a head coach in his ninth season in that role.
--The Mountaineers are the 15th winningest program of all time.
--WVU is 6-7 in games played on Oct. 12, including 3-6 on the road. The last time WVU played on that date was in 2019 against Iowa State (L 38-14).
--The Mountaineers are 39-33-3 in games played on Thursdays, including 15-13 in games played on Thursday nights. WVU has won 13 of the last 19 games played on Thursday night. West Virginia is 85-75-3 all-time in games played after 5 p.m., including 44-47-1 on the road, 34-17-2 at home and 7-11 at a neutral site.
--The Mountaineers are 97-15 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle.
--West Virginia is ranked No. 10 nationally in third-down defense, allowing opponents to convert on 27.8% of their attempts (20/72). WVU’s opponents are converting 30.8% (4/13) in the first quarter, 34.8% (8/23) in the second stanza, 25.0% (4/16) in third quarter and 20.0% (4/20) in the final quarter.
--Since 1980, West Virginia is 268-126-4 in games played on artificial turf surfaces.
--On first down, the Mountaineers have run 144 plays and have gained 773 yards for a 5.4 average. On second down, the Mountaineers have run 111 plays for 623 yards and a 5.6 average. On third down, the Mountaineers have run 65 plays for 312 yards and a 4.8 average gain. West Virginia has run 18 plays on fourth down for 29 yards and a 1.6 average. WVU’s touchdowns have come eight times on first down (5 rush/3 pass), five times on second down (2 rush/3 pass), three times on third down (3 rush/0 pass) and one time on fourth down (1 rush/0 pass).
--Breaking down the West Virginia offensive numbers for the 2023 season shows that the Mountaineers have run 338 plays, 225 on the ground and 113 through the air.
--The rushing game has totaled 959 yards, an average of 4.3 yards per carry and 11 touchdowns. The passing attack has totaled 778 yards, 6 touchdowns and an average of 12.5 yards per completion. Combine the two and the Mountaineers have turned in 1,737 yards of total offense, 17 touchdowns, an average of 5.1 yards per play and an average of 26.4 points per game.
--Deeper analysis shows that the Mountaineer offense has gained 53 first downs by the run and 33 via the pass. On average, West Virginia has totaled 191.8 yards per game on the ground, 155.6 yards per game passing and 347.4 yards per game of total offense.
--Over the last nine years, West Virginia has produced 155 takeaways, tied for No. 38 among Power 5 schools.
--West Virginia is 77-58 all-time against current members of the Big 12 Conference. WVU is 7-4 vs. Baylor; 1-0 against BYU; 16-3-1 vs. Cincinnati; 6-5 against Iowa State; 10-2 vs. Kansas; 6-7 against Kansas State; 3-11 vs. Oklahoma; 5-9 against Oklahoma State; 8-5 vs. TCU; 6-6 against Texas; 7-6 vs. Texas Tech and 2-0 against UCF.
--Dating back to the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl, played in Charlotte, North Carolina, West Virginia has made 18 bowl appearances in the last 21 years, missing only the 2013, 2019 and 2022 seasons. The Mountaineers are one of 16 Power 5 schools to accomplish that feat: Georgia (21), Oklahoma (21), Wisconsin (21), Clemson (20), Florida (20), LSU (20), Ohio State (20), Oklahoma State (20), Virginia Tech (19), Alabama (19), Auburn (19), Florida State (18), Iowa (18), Oregon (18), Texas (18) and West Virginia (18).
--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 117 players from 25 different states and four foreign countries: Australia (1), Finland (1), Sweden (1) and The Netherlands (1). Leading the way is West Virginia (20), Florida (13), Pennsylvania (13), Ohio (12), Georgia (8), Kentucky (6), Maryland (6), North Carolina (5), South Carolina (4), New Jersey (3), New York (3), Virginia (3), Alabama (2), Delaware (2), Michigan (2), Texas (2), Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri and Washington.
| Offense | Defense |
|---|---|
|
Scoring offense |
Scoring defense |
DEPTH CHART:
No depth chart has been released for this contest but this was the depth chart from the flip card prior to the start of the TCU game.
OFFENSE:
QB: 6 Garrett Greene, 5-11, 198, Jr.
8 Nicco Marchiol, 6-1, 226, r-Fr.
RB: 4 CJ Donaldson, 6-1, 238, So.
26 Justin Johnson, 5-11, 202, Jr.
WR (Z): 5 Devin Carter, 6-3, 215, r-Sr.
7 Traylon Ray, 6-3, 190, Fr.
WR (X): 84 Hudson Clement, 6-1, 197, r-Fr.
13 EJ Horton, 6-0, 178, Jr.
WR (H): 2 Rodney Gallagher, 5-10, 167, Fr.
29 Preston Fox, 5-10, 184, r-So.
TE: 81 Treylan Davis, 6-3, 255, r-So. -or-
87 Kole Taylor, 6-7, 246, Jr.
LT: 74 Wyatt Milum, 6-6, 310, Jr.
58 Nick Malone, 6-5, 298, r-Jr.
LG: 55 Tomas Rimac, 6-6, 318, r-So.
63 Bryce Biggs, 6-4, 310, r-So.
C: 54 Zach Frazier, 6-3, 311, Jr.
"67 Landen Livingston, 6-4, 294, r-Fr.
RG: 50 Brandon Yates, 6-4, 315, r-Jr.
66 Ja'Quay Hubbard, 6-5, 326, r-Jr.
RT: 72 Doug Nester, 6-7, 320, Sr.
60 Johnny Williams, 6-7, 308, Fr.
DEFENSE:
DE: 91 Sean Martin, 6-5, 291, Jr.
3 Tomiwa Durojaiye, 6-4, 278, r-Fr.
NT: 93 Mike Lockhart, 6-3, 309, r-Jr.
54 Fatorma Mulbah, 6-3, 306, r-Jr.
DT: 96 Edward Vesterinen, 6-3, 283, Jr.
97 Jalen Thornton, 6-2, 277 r-Jr.
BANDIT: 10 Jared Bartlett, 6-2, 236, r-Jr.
8 Tyrin Bradley, 6-1, 251, Jr.
MIKE: 1 Lee Kpogba, 6-1, 234, r-Sr.
36 Caden Biser, 6-0, 230, r-So.
WILL: 15 Ben Cutter, 6-0, 223, Fr.
33 Jairo Faverus, 6-0, 217, r-So.
SPEAR: 13 Hershey McLaurin, 6-1, 212, Jr.
5 Lance Dixon, 6-2, 221, r-Jr.
FS: 2 Aubrey Burks, 5-11, 188, Jr.
CAT: 12 Anthony Wilson, 5-9, 190, r-Jr.
24 Marcis Floyd, 6-0, 197, r-Sr.
CB: 14 4 Malachi Ruffin, 5-10, 193, r-Jr.
7 Andrew Wilson-Lamp, 6-2, 175, r-So.
CB: 11 Beanie Bishop, 5-10, 181, r-Sr.
6 Jacolby Spells, 5-11, 184, So.
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