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Game Preview: West Virginia football at Texas

The West Virginia Mountaineers football program is 6-5 against Texas all-time.
The West Virginia Mountaineers football program is 6-5 against Texas all-time.
Travel with the Mountaineers and get great rates and last minute specials!
Travel with the Mountaineers and get great rates and last minute specials!

West Virginia will move back into Big 12 Conference play for a matchup on the road against Texas (2-2). The two teams have each started 0-1 in the league and will be looking to even their overall record.

WVSports.com dives into numbers and notes, a depth chart and where you can watch the contest among other items in this game preview.

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Series: West Virginia 6-5

Last meeting: 2021 WVU 31 UT 23

Television: 7:30 p.m., FS1, Tim Brando (PBP), Spencer Tillman (analyst)

--Neal Brown is in his fourth season atop the West Virginia football program with a record of 19-20. Overall, Brown has a 54-36 record as a head coach.

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

--Since 1980, West Virginia is 207-24-1 when scoring 30 or more points in a game. Since 2000, the Mountaineers are 66-7 when hitting the 40-point plateau, and WVU is 196-7 all-time when scoring 40 or more points in a game.

--WVU is 13-3-2 in games played on Oct. 1, including 4-1-2 in games played on the road. The first time that WVU played on Oct. 1, was in 1904 when the Mountaineers defeated California (Pa.), 16-0 at home. The last time WVU played on that date was in 2016 vs. Kansas State at home (W 17-16). The last time that West Virginia played on the road on Oct. 1 was against Missouri in 1994 (W 34-10).

--WVU is 95-14 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle.

--The Mountaineers are No. 21 nationally in third down conversions (.492) and No. 5 in fourth down conversions (.900).

--West Virginia is one of five Power 5 schools to rank in the top 25 nationally in rushing offense (20) and rushing defense (25). The Mountaineers are also one of nine Power 5 schools to rank in the top 25 nationally in total offense (18) and total defense (23).

--The Mountaineers are 4-2 all-time in Austin.

--West Virginia is 53-49 all-time against current members of the Big 12 Conference.

--This will be the 302nd nationally televised game for West Virginia. The Mountaineers are 157-143-1 in nationally televised games.

--On first down, the Mountaineers have run 140 plays and have gained 870 yards for a 6.2 average. On second down, the Mountaineers have run 102 plays for 630 yards and a 6.2 average. On third down, the Mountaineers have run 59 plays for 391 yards and a 6.6 average gain. West Virginia has run 10 plays on fourth down for 69 yards and a 6.9 average.

--WVU’s touchdowns have come seven times on first down (5 rush/2 pass), 10 times on second down (4 rush/6 pass), two times on third down (1 rush/1 pass) and one time on fourth down (1 rush/0 pass).

--Breaking down the West Virginia offensive numbers for the 2022 season shows that the Mountaineers have run 311 plays, 162 on the ground and 149 through the air.

--The rushing game has totaled 870 yards, an average of 5.4 yards per carry and 11 touch- downs. The passing attack has totaled 1,090 yards, nine touchdowns and an average of 11.2 yards per completion. Combine the two and the Mountaineers have turned in 1,960 yards of total offense, 20 touchdowns, an average of 6.3 yards per play and an average of 42.8 points per game.

--Deeper analysis shows that the Mountaineer offense has gained 39 first downs by the run and 56 via the pass. On average, West Virginia has totaled 217.5 yards per game on the ground, 272.5 yards per game passing and 490.0 yards per game of total offense.

--Over the last eight years, West Virginia has produced 143 takeaways, good for No. 43 nationally and No. 24 among Power 5 schools.

--Coaching staff assignments: Matt Moore (AHC-OL/Field); Graham Harrell (OC-QB/Press Box); Chad Scott (Run Game Coord.-RB/Field); Jordan Lesley (DC-OLB/Field); ShaDon Brown (Co-DC-DBs/Field); Jeff Koonz (ST Coordinator-ILB/Field); Andrew Jackson (DL/Press Box); Sean Reagan (TE/Press Box); Tony Washington (WR/Field); Dontae Wright (S/Press Box).

--West Virginia has gone to a bowl game in 18 of the last 20 years. The Mountaineers are one of 15 Power 5 schools to accomplish that feat: Georgia (20), Oklahoma (20), Wisconsin (20), Clemson (19), Florida (19), LSU (19), Ohio State (19), Oklahoma State (19), Virginia Tech (19), Alabama (18), Auburn (18), Florida State (18), Iowa (18), Oregon (18) and West Virginia (18).

--Eleven true freshmen have played for the Mountaineers in 2022: Derek Berlitz (DLB), Aric Burton (BAN), Raleigh Collins III (S), CJ Donaldson (RB), Mumu Bin-Wahad (CB), Nicco Marchiol (QB), Asani Redwood (DL), Jacolby Spells (CB), Oliver Straw (P), Keaton Thomas (DB) and Jarel Williams (WR).


DEPTH CHART:

OFFENSE:
QB: 18 JT Daniels, 6-2, 226, Jr.
7 Will Crowder, 6-2, 220, r-Fr. -or-
8 Nicco Marchiol, 6-1, 208, Fr. -or-
6 Garrett Greene, 5-11, 200, r-So.

RB:
24 Tony Mathis, 5-11, 207, r-So.
26 Justin Johnson, 5-11, 198, So. -or-
12 CJ Donaldson, 6-2, 240, Fr.

WR (X):
0 Bryce Ford-Wheaton, 6-3, 224, r-Jr.
11 Cortez Braham, 6-2, 198, Jr.

WR (Y):
13 Sam James, 6-0, 182, r-Jr.
29 Preston Fox, 5-10, 184, r-Fr.

WR (H):
15 Reese Smith, 5-10, 187, So.
89 Graeson Malashevich, 5-9, 186, r-So.

WR (Z):
3 Kaden Prather, 6-4, 211, So.
4 Jeremiah Aaron, 5-10, 186, So.

TE (H):
88 Brian Polendey, 6-4, 256, r-Sr. -or-
87 Mike O'Laughlin, 6-5, 255, r-Jr.

LT:
64 Wyatt Milum, 6-6, 307, So.
58 Nick Malone, 6-5, 300, r-So.

LG:
74 James Gmiter, 6-3, 310, r-Jr.
55 Tomas Rimac, 6-6, 312, r-Fr.

C:
54 Zach Frazier, 6-3, 306, So.
53 Jordan White, 6-2, 298, r-Fr.

RG:
53 Jordan White, 6-2, 298, r-Fr.
72 Doug Nester, 6-7, 320, Jr.

RT:
72 Doug Nester, 6-7, 320, Jr.
66 Ja'Quay Hubbard, 6-5, 318, r-So. -or-
50 Brandon Yates, 6-4, 308, r-So. -or-

DEFENSE:
DT: 55 Dante Stills, 6-4, 290, Sr.
96 Edward Vesterinen, 6-3, 281, So.
99 Zeiqui Lawton, 6-1, 274, r-Fr.

NG:
95 Jordan Jefferson, 6-3, 310, Jr.
93 Mike Lockhart, 6-3, 317, r-So.

DE:
91 Sean Martin, 6-5, 288, So.
12 Taijh Alston, 6-4, 255, r-Sr.

BANDIT:
10 Jared Bartlett, 6-2, 235, r-So. -or-
44 Lanell Carr, 6-1, 245, So.

WLB:
6 Exree Loe, 6-0, 214, r-Sr.
7 Jasir Cox, 6-1, 204, Sr.

MLB:
8 Lee Kpogba, 6-1, 230, Jr.
36 Caden Biser, 6-0, 226, r-Fr.

SPEAR:
27 Davis Mallinger, 6-1, 194, r-Fr. -or-
5 Lance Dixon, 6-2, 220, r-So.

FS:
2 Aubrey Burks, 5-11, 182, So.
13 Hershey McLaurin, 6-1, 210, So.

CS:
24 Marcis Floyd, 6-0, 194, r-Jr.
14 Malachi Ruffin, 5-10, 195, Jr.

LCB:
4 Rashad Ajayi, 5-11, 182, Sr.
28 Jacolby Spells, 5-11, 180, Fr.

RCB:
11 Wesley McCormick, 5-11, 200, Sr.
20 Andrew Wilson-Lamp, 6-2, 178, r-Fr. -or-
29 Mumu Bin-Wahad, 5-10, 179, Fr.

SPECIAL TEAMS:
K:
48 Casey Legg, 6-4, 216, r-Jr.
37 Parker Grothaus, 6-2, 216, r-Sr.

H:
89 Graeson Malashevich, 5-9, 186, r-So.

P:
41 Oliver Straw, 6-2, 214, Fr.
40 Kolten McGhee, 6-0, 187, r-So.

KO:
37 Parker Grothaus, 6-2, 216, r-Sr.
39 Danny King, 5-10, 172, r-Fr.

LS:
43 Austin Brinkman, 6-3, 215, r-Fr.

KOR:
4 Jeremiah Aaron, 5-10, 186, So.
26 Justin Johnson, 5-11, 198, So.

PR:
15 Reese Smith, 5-10, 187, So. -or-
13 Sam James, 6-0, 182, r-Jr. -or-
29 Preston Fox, 5-10, 184, r-Fr.

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