Game Preview: West Virginia football at Oklahoma

West Virginia will open Big 12 Conference play on the road with the Mountaineers set to take on Oklahoma in prime time. 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: Oklahoma 10-2

Last meeting: 2019 WVU 14 OU 52

Television: 7:30 p.m. Chris Fowler (PBP), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Holly Rowe (sideline)

NUMBERS AND NOTES:

--Neal Brown is in his third season atop the West Virginia football program with a record of 13-12. Overall, Brown has a 48-28 record as a head coach.

--West Virginia is 15th all-time in wins.

--The Mountaineers are 9-4 in games played on Sept. 25, including 3-4 on the road. The last time WVU played on Sept. 25, was at LSU in 2010 (L 20-14).

--West Virginia is 1-6 all-time against Oklahoma in Norman.

--West Virginia hasn't won a road game since Nov. 29, 2019 (TCU).

--This will be the 287th nationally televised game for West Virginia with the program 150-134-1 in those games.

--Coaching staff assignments: Matt Moore (AHC-OL/Field); Gerad Parker (OC-WR/Press Box); Chad Scott (Co-OC-RB/Field); Jordan Lesley (DC-OLB/Field); ShaDon Brown (Co-DC-DBs/Field); Jeff Koonz (ST Coordinator-ILB/Field); Andrew Jackson (DL/Field); Sean Reagan (QB/Press Box); Travis Trickett (TE-IR/Field); Dontae Wright (S/Press Box).

--West Virginia is is 92-14 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle.

--The Mountaineers have gone to a bowl game in 17 of the last 19 years. West Virginia is one of 15 power five schools to accomplish that feat along with Georgia (19), Oklahoma (19), Wisconsin (19), Clemson (18), Florida (18), Florida State (18), LSU (18), Ohio State (18), Oklahoma State (18), Virginia Tech (18), Alabama (17), Auburn (17), Iowa (17) and Oregon (17).

--Since 1980, West Virginia is 203-22-1 when scoring 30 or more points in a game. Since 2000, the Mountaineers are 65-6 when hitting the 40-point plateau, and WVU is 195-6 all-time when scoring at least 40 or more points in a game.

--The Mountaineers defense is ranked No. 1 in red zone defense (.364), No. 22 in sacks (3.33), No. 31 in scoring defense (17.0), No. 35 in rushing defense (101.7) and No. 39 in total defense (306.7)

--Over the last seven years, West Virginia has produced 127 takeaways, ranking No. 31 nationally and No. 17 among Power 5 schools.

--The 2021 roster currently consists of 108 players from 20 different states, Washington D.C. (1) and four foreign countries: Canada (3), Finland (1), Sweden (1) and The Netherlands (1).

--Breaking down the West Virginia offensive numbers for the 2021 season shows that the Mountaineers have run 208 plays, 109 on the ground and 99 through the air.

--The rushing game has totaled 419 yards, an average of 3.8 yards per carry and eight touch- downs. The passing attack has totaled 814 yards, six touchdowns and an average of 13.8 yards per completion. Combine the two and the Mountaineers have turned in 1,233 yards of total offense, 14 touchdowns, an average of 5.9 yards per play and an average of 39.0 points per game.

--Deeper analysis shows that the Mountaineer offense has gained 25 first downs by the run and 36 via the pass. On average, West Virgin- ia has totaled 139.7 yards per game on the ground, 271.3 yards per game passing and 411.0 yards per game of total offense.

--On first down, the Mountaineers have run 90 plays and have gained 436 yards for a 4.8 aver- age. On second down, the Mountaineers have run 69 plays for 458 yards and a 6.6 average. On third down, the Mountaineers have run 42 plays for 273 yards and a 6.5 average gain. West Virginia has run seven plays on fourth down for 66 yards and a 9.4 average.

--Sixteen true freshmen have played for the Mountaineers in 2021: Caden Biser (LB), Aubrey Burks (S), Will Crowder (QB), Treylan Davis (TE), Brayden Dudley (DL), Justin Johnson Jr. (RB), Davis Mallinger (S), Saint McLeod (S), Wyatt Milum (OL), Kaden Prather (WR), Cam Rice (DL), Tomas Rimac (OL), Hammond Russell IV (DL), Edward Vesterinen (DL), Victor Wikstrom (TE) and Andrew Wilson-Lamp (CB).

DEPTH CHART:
OFFENSE:
QB: 2 Jarret Doege, 6-2, 208, r-Sr.
6 Garrett Greene, 5-11, 193, r-Fr.

RB: 4 Leddie Brown, 6-0, 206, Sr.
24 Tony Mathis, 5-11, 205, r-So.
26 Justin Johnson, 5-11, 196, Fr.

TE: 87 Mike O'Laughlin, 6-5, 252, r-Jr.
85 T. J. Banks, 6-5, 245, r-Jr.

WR (X): 0 Bryce Wheaton, 6-3, 220, r-Jr.
3 Kaden Prather, 6-4, 210, Fr.

WR (H): 13 Sam James, 6-0, 183, r-Jr.
89 Graeson Malashevich, 5-9, 180, r-So.

SLOT: 16 Winston Wright, 5-10, 180, Jr.
15 Reese Smith, 5-10, 186, r-Fr.

WR (Z): 10 Sean Ryan, 6-3, 198, Jr.
9 Isaiah Esdale, 6-0, 202, r-Sr. -or-
17 Sam Brown, 6-2, 202, r-Fr.

LT: 50 Brandon Yates, 6-4, 295, r-So.
66 Ja’Quay Hubbard, 6-5, 310, r-So.

LG: 74 James Gmiter, 6-3, 298, r-Jr.
58 Nick Malone, 6-5, 290, r-So.

C: 54 Zach Frazier, 6-2, 308, Fr.
53 Jordan White, 6-2, 298, r-Fr.

RG: 72 Doug Nester, 6-7, 321, Jr.
79 John Hughes, 6-4, 305, r-Jr.

RT: 55 Parker Moorer, 6-5, 308, r-So. -or-
64 Wyatt Milum, 6-6, 291, Fr.

DEFENSE:
DT: 90 Akheem Mesidor, 6-2, 272, So.
52 Jalen Thornton, 6-2, 273, r-So.

DT: 55 Dante Stills, 6-4, 280, Sr.
95 Jordan Jefferson, 6-3, 298, r-So.

DE: 12 Taijh Alston, 6-4, 245, r-Jr.
91 Sean Martin, 6-5, 280, r-Fr.

BANDIT: 8 VanDarius Cowan, 6-4, 242, r-Sr. -or-
10 Jared Bartlett, 6-2, 225, r-So.

WLB: 5 Lance Dixon, 6-2, 210, r-So.
6 Exree Loe, 6-0, 218, r-Sr.

MLB: 7 Josh Chandler-Semedo, 5-11, 226, Sr.
47 Deshawn Stevens, 6-2, 255, r-Sr.

SPEAR: 19 Scottie Young, 5-11, 207, r-Sr.
9 Charles Woods, 5-11, 193, r-Jr.

CS: 29 Sean Mahone, 6-0, 200, r-Sr.
15 Kerry Martin, 6-1, 201, r-So.

FS: 4 Alonzo Addae, 5-11, 190, r-Sr.
25 Aubrey Burks, 5-11, 201, Fr.

LCB: 11 Nicktroy Fortune, 5-11, 194, Jr.
14 Malachi Ruffin, 5-10, 185, r-Jr.

RCB: 2 Daryl Porter, 5-11, 185, r-Fr.
3 Jackie Matthews, 5-10, 190, r-Jr.

SPECIAL TEAMS:
K: 48 Casey Legg, 6-4, 213, r-Jr.
35 Tyler Sumpter, 5-10, 219, r-Sr.

H: 89 Graeson Malashevich, 5-9, 180, r-So.

P: 35 Tyler Sumpter, 5-10, 219, r-Sr.

KO: 30 Evan Staley, 6-1, 202, r-Sr.

LS: 43 Austin Brinkman, 6-3, 215, r-Fr.
47 JP Hadley, 6-2, 242, r-Jr.

KOR: 16 Winston Wright, 5-10, 180, Jr.
17 Sam Brown, 6-2, 200, r-Fr.

PR: 15 Reese Smith, 5-10, 186, r-Fr. -or-
16 Winston Wright, 5-10, 180, Jr. -or-
9 Isaiah Esdale, 6-0, 202, r-Sr.

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