Game Preview: West Virginia football at TCU
West Virginia (3-1) will hit the road after three consecutive wins to take on TCU in a primetime Big 12 Conference matchup. 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: WVU 7-5
Last meeting: 2022 WVU 31 TCU 41
Television: 8 p.m. ESPN 2, Dave Fleming (PBP), Brock Osweiler (analyst) Kayla Burton (sideline)
COACHES:
Neal Brown:
WEST VIRGINIA RECORD: 25-26, 5th Year
OVERALL RECORD: 60-42, 9th Year
VS. TCU: 3-1
Sonny Dykes:
TCU RECORD: 16-3, 2nd Year
OVERALL RECORD: 87-66, 14th Year
VS. WEST VIRGINIA: 1-0
NOTES:
--West Virginia head coach Neal Brown is in his fifth season atop the Mountaineers football program and has gone 25-26 in Morgantown during that time. Overall, Brown is 60-42 as a head coach in his ninth season in that role.
--The Mountaineers are the 15th winningest program of all time.
--WVU is 5-7-1 in games played on Sept. 30, including 1-5 on the road. The last time WVU played on that date was in 1995 at East Carolina (L 23-20).
--West Virginia is 3-2 all-time in Fort Worth.
--West Virginia has won back-to-back games passing for 99 yards or fewer for the first time since beating Pittsburgh and South Florida to end the 2005 regular season.
--West Virginia has allowed 0 punt return yards this season and averaging 38.8 net punt. The Mountaineers have 105 return yards on the year, which is more than either 2022 or 2021 already through four games.
--The Mountaineers have scored touchdowns on 11 of their 12 scoring attempts inside the red zone.
--The West Virginia defense is permitting just 18.5 points and 311 yards per game. The Mountaineers have held opponents to 14/56 on third down (25%).
--Since 1980, West Virginia is 209-27-1 when scoring 30 or more points in a game. Since 2000, the Mountaineers are 68-7 when hitting the 40-point plateau. WVU is 198-7 all-time when scoring 50 or more points in a game.
--The Big 12 Now on ESPN2 broadcast of the TCU game marks the 316th network television game for WVU. All-time, the Mountaineers are 164-150-1 in nationally televised games.
--West Virginia has gone to a bowl game in 18 of the last 21 years.
--West Virginia is 81-70-3 all-time in games played after 5 p.m., 42-43-1 on the road, 33- 16-2 at home and 6-10 at a neutral site
--In the Neal Brown era, the Mountaineers are 21-5 when rushing for at least 100 yards.
--West Virginia is 76-58 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; 7-5 vs. TCU; 6-6 against Texas; 7-6 vs. Texas Tech and 2-0 against UCF.
--On first down, the Mountaineers have run 116 plays and have gained 593 yards for a 5.1 average. On second down, the Mountaineers have run 91 plays for 512 yards and a 5.6 average. On third down, the Mountaineers have run 52 plays for 271 yards and a 5.2 average gain. West Virginia has run 15 plays on fourth down for 18 yards and a 1.2 average. WVU’s touchdowns have come six times on first down (3 rush/3 pass), five times on second down (2 rush/3 pass), two times on third down (2 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 274 plays, 182 on the ground and 92 through the air.
--The rushing game has totaled 758 yards, an average of 4.2 yards per carry and eight touchdowns. The passing attack has totaled 636 yards, 6 touchdowns and an average of 12.2 yards per completion. Combine the two and the Mountaineers have turned in 1,394 yards of total offense, 14 touchdowns, an average of 5.1 yards per play and an average of 27.0 points per game.
--Deeper analysis shows that the Mountaineer offense has gained 43 first downs by the run and 26 via the pass. On average, West Virginia has totaled 189.5 yards per game on the ground, 159.0 yards per game passing and 348.5 yards per game of total offense.
--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.
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 Texas Tech 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.
11 Cortez Braham, 6-2, 199, Sr.
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: 19 Trey Lathan, 6-1, 222, r-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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