Game Preview: West Virginia football vs. Towson
West Virginia will look for their first win over the season against FCS opponent Towson. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and the Mountaineers are looking for some momentum.
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 1-0
Last meeting: 2014 WVU 54 TU 0
Television: 1 p.m., Big 12 NOW on ESPN+, Noah Reed (PBP), Adam Breneman (analyst)
NUMBERS AND NOTES:
--Neal Brown is in his fourth season atop the West Virginia football program with a record of 17-20. Overall, Brown has a 52-36 record as a head coach.
--West Virginia is 15th all-time in wins.
--Since 1980, West Virginia is 205-24-1 when scoring 30 or more points in a game. Since 2000, the Mountaineers are 65-7 when hitting the 40-point plateau, and WVU is 195-7 all-time when scoring 40 or more points in a game.
----West Virginia is 22-0 against FCS teams.
--WVU is 6-3 in games played on Sept. 17, including 3-2 in games played at home. The first time that WVU played on Sept. 17, was in 1949 when the Mountaineers defeated Waynesburg, 42-7. The last time WVU played on that date was in 2011 vs. Maryland at home (W 37-31).
--WVU is 94-14 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle.
--The Mountaineers are 16-of-31 for 52% on their third-down attempts this season and 3-of-4 for 75% on fourth-down attempts. WVU is No. 31 nationally in third-down conversions and No. 23 on fourth-down conversions.
--The 2022 season marks the 43rd season of competition for West Virginia at Milan Puskar Stadium. WVU holds a 189-73-4 (.718) all-time mark at the facility, which opened in 1980.
--On first down, the Mountaineers have run 65 plays and have gained 321 yards for a 4.9 average. On second down, the Mountaineers have run 51 plays for 339 yards and a 6.6 average. On third down, the Mountaineers have run 31 plays for 208 yards and an 6.7 average gain. West Virginia has run four plays on fourth down for 37 yards and a 9.3 average.
--• Breaking down the West Virginia offensive numbers for the 2022 season shows that the Mountaineers have run 151 plays, 71 on the ground and 80 through the air.
--The rushing game has totaled 336 yards, an average of 4.7 yards per carry and four touch- downs. The passing attack has totaled 569 yards, five touchdowns and an average of 11.2 yards per completion. Combine the two and the Mountaineers have turned in 905 yards of total offense, nine touchdowns, an average of 6.0 yards per play and an average of 36.5 points per game.
--Deeper analysis shows that the Mountaineer offense has gained 11 first downs by the run and 30 via the pass. On average, West Virginia has totaled 168.0 yards per game on the ground, 284.5 yards per game passing and 452.5 yards per game of total offense.
--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).
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.
2 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.
50 Brandon Yates, 6-4, 308, r-So. -or-
66 Ja'Quay Hubbard, 6-5, 318, 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: 12 Taijh Alston, 6-4, 255, r-Sr.
91 Sean Martin, 6-5, 288, So.
BANDIT: 10 Jared Bartlett, 6-2, 235, r-So. -or-
44 Lanell Carr, 6-1, 245, So.
WLB: 5 Lance Dixon, 6-2, 220, r-So.
6 Exree Loe, 6-0, 214, r-Sr.
MLB: 8 Lee Kpogba, 6-1, 230, Jr.
18 Tirek Austin-Cave, 6-1, 228, So.
36 Caden Biser, 6-0, 226, r-Fr.
SPEAR: 27 Davis Mallinger, 6-1, 194, r-Fr. -or-
7 Jasir Cox, 6-1, 204, Sr.
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. -or-
11 Wesley McCormick, 5-11, 200, Sr.
RCB: 9 Charles Woods, 5-11, 193, Sr.
20 Andrew Wilson-Lamp, 6-2, 178, r-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.
27 Davis Mallinger, 6-1, 184, r-Fr.
PR: 13 Sam James, 6-0, 182, r-Jr.
15 Reese Smith, 5-10, 187, So. -or-
29 Preston Fox, 5-10, 184, r-Fr.
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