Game Preview: West Virginia football vs. Pittsburgh

West Virginia (1-1) will look to keep the momentum rolling with rival Pittsburgh set to come to Morgantown for the 106th edition of the Backyard Brawl. 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: PITT 62-40-3

Last meeting: 2022 WVU 31 PITT 38

Television: 7:30 p.m. ABC, Sean McDonough (PBP), Greg McElroy (analyst), Molly McGrath (sideline) - ESPN3 (mobile app)

COACHES:

Neal Brown:

WEST VIRGINIA RECORD: 23-26, 5th Year

OVERALL RECORD: 58-42, 9th Year

VS. PITTSBURGH: 0-1

Pat Narduzzi

PITTSBURGH RECORD: 63-42, 9th Year

OVERALL RECORD: 63-42, 9th 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 23-26 in Morgantown during that time. Overall, Brown is 58-42 as a head coach in his ninth season in that role.

--The Mountaineers are the 15th winningest program of all time.

--The Pitt series is West Virginia’s longest-running rivalry, with the 2023 game being the 106th meeting between the two schools. WVU’s longest series are against Syracuse (60), Penn State (60), Virginia Tech (54) and Maryland (53).

--Since 1963, WVU has posted a 25-23-2 mark in the Backyard Brawl. The 1963 contest marked the start of the series being played on a home-and-home basis.

--West Virginia posted a 14-7 record against Pitt while both were members of the Big East Conference and holds a 16-9-1 mark in the last 26 games of the series.

--WVU is 5-3 in games played on Sept. 16, including 4-1 at Milan Puskar Stadium. The last time WVU played on that date was in 2017 vs. Delaware State (W 56-20).

--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.

--WVU is 36-16 in nonconference games since 2010, including 26-2 at home. The Mountaineers are 75-32 since 2000, including 52-7 at home.

--This is the 314th network television game for West Virginia and overall the Mountaineers are 162-150-1 in such contests.

--West Virginia is 79-70-3 all-time in games played after 5 p.m., 31-16-2 at home, 42-43-1 on the road and 6-10 at a neutral site.

--West Virginia has gone to a bowl game in 18 of the last 21 years.

--In the Neal Brown era, the Mountaineers are 19-5 when rushing for at least 100 yards.

--Over the last nine years, West Virginia’s defense is No. 32 nationally in interceptions (97) among FBS schools and is No. 17 among Power 5 schools.

--On first down, the Mountaineers have run 63 plays and have gained 402 yards for a 6.4 average. On second down, the Mountaineers have run 47 plays for 330 yards and a 7.0 average. On third down, the Mountaineers have run 27 plays for 186 yards and a 6.9 average gain. West Virginia has run 11 plays on fourth down for 9 yards and a 0.80 average. WVU’s touchdowns have come five times on first down (3 rush/2 pass), three times on second down (1 rush/2 pass), one time on third down (1 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 148 plays, 89 on the ground and 59 through the air.

--The rushing game has totaled 450 yards, an average of 5.1 yards per carry and six touchdowns. The passing attack has totaled 477 yards, 4 touchdowns and an average of 14.5 yards per completion. Combine the two and the Mountaineers have turned in 927 yards of total offense, 10 touchdowns, an average of 6.3 yards per play and an average of 35.5 points per game.

--Deeper analysis shows that the Mountaineer offense has gained 27 first downs by the run and 19 via the pass. On average, West Virginia has totaled 225.0 yards per game on the ground, 238.5 yards per game passing and 463.5 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 Duquesne 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): 11 Cortez Braham, 6-2, 199, Sr. -or-
1 Jeremiah Aaron, 5-10, 188, Jr.

WR (H): 29 Preston Fox, 5-10, 184, r-So.
2 Rodney Gallagher, 5-10, 167, Fr.

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.
18 Tirek Austin-Cave, 6-1, 229, Jr.

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.
23 Keyshawn Cobb, 5-10, 208, Sr.

CAT: 12 Anthony Wilson, 5-9, 190, r-Jr.
24 Marcis Floyd, 6-0, 197, r-Sr.

CB: 7 Andrew Wilson-Lamp, 6-2, 175, r-So.
14 Malachi Ruffin, 5-10, 193, r-Jr.

CB: 11 Beanie Bishop, 5-10, 181, r-Sr.
14 Malachi Ruffin, 5-10, 193, r-Jr.

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