Game Preview: West Virginia football vs. Iowa State

West Virginia (3-4) is coming off a road win and will try to keep the momentum going against No. 22/23 Iowa State (5-2) at home. 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: West Virginia 5-4

Last meeting: 2020 WVU 6 ISU 42

Television: 2 p.m. ESPN+. Courtney Lyle (PBP), Brandon Weeden (analyst) Shane Sparks (sideline)

NUMBERS AND NOTES:

--Neal Brown is in his third season atop the West Virginia football program with a record of 14-15. Overall, Brown has a 49-31 record as a head coach.

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

--The Mountaineers are 6-9-1 in games played on Oct. 30, including 2-3 at home. The last time WVU played on that date was at USF in 2009 (L 30-19). The last time WVU played at home on Oct. 30 was in 1982 against East Carolina (W 30-3)

--West Virginia is 2-2 all-time against Iowa State in Morgantown.

--West Virginia won five of the first six meetings, but Iowa State has won the last three.

--West Virginia is now 151-138-1 in nationally televised games after beating TCU.

--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 93-14 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 has registered 49 tackles for loss, averaging 7.0 tackles for loss per game. The defense is ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 6 nationally in tackles for loss. The Mountaineer defense also has registered 18 sacks this season, averaging 2.6 per game. That number is No. 2 in the Big 12 and No. 40 nationally.

--The Mountaineer defense is ranked No. 16 in red zone defense (.720), No. 19 in rushing defense (108.4) and No. 30 in first-down defense (128)

--Over the last seven years, West Virginia has produced 130 takeaways, ranking No. 30 nationally and No. 18 among Power Five 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 478 plays, 244 on the ground and 234 through the air.

--The rushing game has totaled 879 yards, an average of 3.6 yards per carry and 14 touch- downs. The passing attack has totaled 1,853 yards, eight touchdowns and an average of 12.0 yards per completion. Combine the two and the Mountaineers have turned in 2,732 yards of total offense, 22 touchdowns, an average of 5.7 yards per play and an average of 28.4 points per game.

--Deeper analysis shows that the Mountaineer offense has gained 61 first downs by the run and 80 via the pass. On average, West Virginia has totaled 125.6 yards per game on the ground, 264.7 yards per game passing and 390.3 yards per game of total offense.

--On first down, the Mountaineers have run 211 plays and have gained 1,241 yards for a 5.9 average. On second down, the Mountaineers have run 158 plays for 931 yards and a 5.9 average. On third down, the Mountaineers have run 96 plays for 478 yards and a 4.9 average gain. West Virginia has 13 plays on fourth down for 82 yards and a 6.3 average.

--WVU’s touchdowns have come 10 times on first down (7 rush/3 pass), six times on second down (3 rush/3 pass), six times on third down (4 rush/2 pass) and no touchdowns on fourth down (0 rush/0 pass).

--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): 9 Isaiah Esdale, 6-0, 202, r-Sr. -or-
10 Sean Ryan, 6-3, 198, Jr.
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.
53 Jordan White, 6-2, 298, r-Fr.

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

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.

45 Taurus Simmons, 6-2, 250, r-Fr.

BANDIT: 10 Jared Bartlett, 602, 225, r-So.
8 VanDarius Cowan, 6-4, 242, r-Sr. -or-
44 Lanell Carr, 6-2, 248, r-Fr.

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

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

SPEAR: 3 Jackie Matthews, 5-10, 190, r-Jr.
23 Charles Woods, 5-11, 193, r-Jr.

CS: 29 Sean Mahone, 6-0, 200, r-Sr.
27 Davis Mallinger, 6-1, 188, Fr.

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.
23 Charles Woods, 5-11, 193, 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: 9 Isaiah Esdale, 6-0, 202, r-Sr.
89 Graeson Malashevich, 5-9, 180, r-So.

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