Game Preview: West Virginia football at Texas Tech

West Virginia (3-3) will hit the road for another key Big 12 matchup to take on Texas Tech (3-3). The Mountaineers are looking to keep the momentum going after winning their first league game last week against Baylor.

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

Series: West Virginia 6-5

Last meeting: 2021 WVU 20 TTU 23

Television: 3 p.m., FS1, Noah Eagle (PBP), Mark Helfrich (analyst)

--Neal Brown is in his fourth season atop the West Virginia football program with a record of 20-21. Overall, Brown has a 55-37 record as a head coach.

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

--Since 1980, West Virginia is 208-24-1 when scoring 30 or more points in a game. Since 2000, the Mountaineers are 67-7 when hitting the 40-point plateau, and WVU is 197-7 all-time when scoring 40 or more points in a game.

--WVU is 7-9-1 in games played on Oct. 22, including 2-5 in games played on the road. The first time that West Virginia played on Oct. 22, was in 1902 when the Mountaineers lost 23-6 to W.U.P. (Pitt) on the road. The last time WVU played on that date was in 2016 against TCU at home (W 34-10). The last time that West Virginia played on the road on Oct. 22, was against Penn State in 1983 (L 41-23).

--WVU is 96-14 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle.

--The Mountaineers are No. 15 nationally in third-down conversions (.500) and No. 11 in fourth-down conversions (.750).

--West Virginia is averaging 38.7 points per game, ranking No. 20 nationally.

--WVU is No. 17 nationally in red zone offense (.935) and No. 2 in the Big 12. The Mountaineers have the third-most red zone touchdowns in the league (29) and the third-fewest on defense (16).

--This will be the 304th nationally televised game for West Virginia. The Mountaineers are 158-144-1 all-time in nationally televised contests.

--On first down, the Mountaineers have run 204 plays and have gained 1,175 yards for a 5.8 average. On second down, the Mountaineers have run 153 plays for 949 yards and a 6.2 average. On third down, the Mountaineers have run 90 plays for 551 yards and a 6.1 average gain. West Virginia has run 16 plays on fourth down for 99 yards and a 6.2 average.

--WVU’s touchdowns have come 10 times on first down (8 rush/2 pass), 13 times on second down (5 rush/8 pass), three times on third down (2 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 463 plays, 229 on the ground and 234 through the air.

--The rushing game has totaled 1,148 yards, an average of 5.0 yards per carry and 16 touchdowns. The passing attack has totaled 1,626 yards, 11 touchdowns and an average of 10.8 yards per completion. Combine the two and the Mountaineers have turned in 2,774 yards of total offense, 27 touchdowns, an average of 6.0 yards per play and an average of 39.0 points per game.

--Deeper analysis shows that the Mountaineer offense has gained 59 first downs by the run and 81 via the pass. On average, West Virginia has totaled 191.3 yards per game on the ground, 271.0 yards per game passing and 462.3 yards per game of total offense.

--Over the last eight years, West Virginia has produced 146 takeaways, good for No. 25 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.

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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