Game Preview: WVU vs. East Carolina
Series: WVU 18-3
Last meeting: 2009: WVU 35, ECU 20
Television: 12 p.m. FS2, Brian Custer (play-by-play), Ben Leber (analyst)
On a short week West Virginia (0-1) will return to Morgantown for the home opener against East Carolina (0-1) looking to rebound following a narrow defeat this past Sunday.
It will be the 22nd meeting all time between the two programs, with West Virginia winning all 13 meetings in Morgantown and eight of the last ten overall. The two teams last met in 2009, a 35-20 win for the Mountaineers although both teams have since changed coaching staffs.
The Mountaineers are coming off a 31-24 loss to Virginia Tech where the offense drove the ball to the Hokies 15-yard line before running out of time on the final possession. In that game, West Virginia rolled up 592 yards of total offense against a talented Virginia Tech defense and will now square off against an East Carolina unit that is coming off a 34-14 loss at home to FCS opponent James Madison.
This will be the first meeting between West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen and the Pirates since taking over in Morgantown, where he has amassed a 46-32 record in his seven seasons. However, this will be the fourth time that Holgorsen has squared off against the Pirates after going 1-2 in previous meetings as an assistant at Texas Tech and Houston.
Redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier will look to build off an impressive debut where he tossed for 371 yards, a program record for a first-time starter, and three touchdowns with an interception against Virginia Tech. Grier displayed complete command of the offense and turned in an impressive second half after throwing for only 105 yards in the first half.
Ironically, Grier’s father played at East Carolina for a season in 1990 and this will be the second time that the younger Grier will square off against the Pirates after completing 10-17 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns in a win during his time with Florida.
Grier will have all three of his leading pass catchers from a week ago available in juniors Gary Jennings, David Sills and redshirt senior Ka’Raun White who accounted for all but 14 of his yards. The Mountaineers pass catching group also will receive a boost with the return of sophomore wide receiver Marcus Simms, who missed the first game of the season due to suspension.
The Mountaineers were led in the backfield week one by senior Justin Crawford with 106 yards on only 13 carries and will get a crack against a Pirates defense that allowed 422 yards rushing to James Madison and a total of 614 yards overall.
The West Virginia defense will look to rebound after allowing 31 points and 469 yards to Virginia Tech, with the bulk of that coming on several busted plays. The discussion has centered around correcting those issues as well as getting more players into the game to help build depth.
The Pirates are led by second-year head coach Scottie Montgomery who has amassed a record of 3-10 during that time span. Coming over from Duke after serving as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, Montgomery directed East Carolina to its second-highest single season passing attack in school history last season and the fourth best offensive output for the program overall.
But overall, the Pirates return only 16-percent of the rushing yards from a season ago and 34-percent of its passing yards, while the defense only returns 47-percent of its tackles.
East Carolina will utilize a multiple offensive attack led by newly named starting quarterback Thomas Sirk, who is a graduate transfer from Duke. Filling in during the second half a week ago, Sirk completed 21-35 passes for 210 yards with two interceptions reenergizing the Pirates offense and putting the ball in the air much more than East Carolina did in the first half.
Sirk will have several options to trigger the football to with senior Davon Grayson leading the way in week one with seven catches for 86 yards but eight different pass catchers caught a ball.
The running back room features a number of transfers from major college programs with Derrell Scott (Tennessee) and Tyshon Dye (Clemson) rounding out the starters, while sophomore Hussein Howe provides a three-headed monster in the backfield. Scott led the Pirates against James Madison rushing for 45 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries.
The Pirates are replacing six starters on the defensive side and was active on the transfer market taking both junior college, four-year and graduate options. The Pirates have moved to a multiple 4-2-5 look, however only two players on the unit has started more than ten games on the unit.
Kickoff is set for noon and will be televised by FS2.
West Virginia Depth Chart:
OFFENSE:
QB: 7 Will Grier, (r-Jr.), 11 Chris Chugunov, (r-So.)
RB: 25 Justin Crawford, (Sr.), 4 Kennedy McKoy, (So.) -or-, 32 Martell Pettaway, (So.) -or-, 14 Tevin Bush, (Fr.) -or-, 20 Alec Sinkfield, (Fr)
HB: 28 Elijah Wellman, (r-Sr.), 81 Trevon Wesco, (r-Jr.)
X WR: 13 David Sills, (Jr.), 10 Reggie Roberson, (Fr.)
Y/H WR: 12 Gary Jennings, (Jr.), 19 Druw Bowen, (r-Fr.)
Z WR: 2 Ka'Raun White, (r-Sr.), 85 Ricky Rogers, (r-Jr.)
LT: 55 Yodny Cajuste, (r-Jr.), 72 Kelby Wickline, (r-So.)
LG: 56 Grant Lingafelter, (r-Sr.), 76 Chase Behrndt, (r-Fr.)
C: 79 Matt Jones, (r-So.), 58 Ray Raulerson, (r-Jr.)
RG: 62 Kyle Bosch, (r-Sr.), 73 Josh Sills, (r-Fr.)
RT: 53 Colton McKivitz, (r-So.), 72 Kelby Wickline, (r-So.)
DEFENSE:
DE: 88 Adam Shuler, (r-So.), 92 Jon Lewis, (r-Sr.)
NT: 99 Xavier Pegues, (r-Sr.), 96 Jaleel Fields, (r-Jr.)
DE: 46 Reese Donahue, (So.), 93 Ezekiel Rose, (Jr.)
SAM LB: 5 Xavier Preston, (Sr.), 44 Hodari Christian, (r-Sr.)
MIKE LB: 3 Al-Rasheed Benton, (r-Sr.), 7 Brendan Ferns, (r-Fr.)
WILL LB: 10 Dylan Tonkery, (r-Fr.), 45 Adam Hensley, (So.)
SPUR: 8 Kyzir White, (Sr.), 18 Marvin Gross, (r-Sr.)
BS: 16 Toyous Avery, (r-Jr.), 1 Derrek Pitts, (Fr.)
FS: 6 Dravon Askew-Henry, (r-Jr.), 9 Jovanni Stewart, (So.)
LCB: 24 Hakeem Bailey, (r-So.), 19 Elijah Battle, (Sr.)
RCB: 4 Mike Daniels, (Sr.), 12 Corey Winfield, (r-Sr.)
SPECIAL TEAMS:
K: 48 Mike Molina, (r-Sr.), 43 Luke Hogan, (r-Fr.)
P: 15 Billy Kinney, (r-Jr.), 43 Luke Hogan, (r-Fr.)
LS: 52 Nick Meadows, (r-Sr.), 64 Rex Sunahara, (r-So.)
H: 15 Billy Kinney, (r-Jr.), 43 Luke Hogan, (r-Fr.)
KO: 30 Evan Staley, (r-Fr.), 43 Luke Hogan, (r-Fr.)
PR: 12 Gary Jennings, (Jr.), 13 David Sills, (Jr.)
KOR: 12 Gary Jennings, (Jr.), 6 Dravon Askew-Henry, (r-Jr.)
NOTES:
--This year marks the 126th year of West Virginia football with the Mountaineers currently sitting in 14th place all-time in wins in college football.
--WVU is 97-19-6 in home openers and 34-4-1 inside of Milan Puskar Stadium.
--Since 2000, West Virginia is 107-13 when scoring more than 30 points and 55-4 when scoring more than 40 points in a game. West Virginia has won 11 straight games when scoring 30 points or more.
--The Mountaineers are 81-11 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle.
--West Virginia is 17-5 in September under head coach Dana Holgorsen and 13-2 at home.
--The Mountaineers are 77-24-1 against current members of the American Athletic Conference including 3-0 under head coach Dana Holgorsen.
--The 2017 roster consists of 121 players from 20 different states.
--Coaching staff assignments: AHC/DC/LB Tony Gibson (field), OC/QB Jake Spavital (field), CB Doug Belk (press box), WR Tyron Carrier (field), S Matt Caponi (field), RB Tony Dews (field), LB/ST Mark Scott (press box), DL Bruce Tall (press box), OL Joe Wickline (field)
--There are 20 Mountaineers who have seen their first WVU action during the 2017 season: Hakeem Bailey (CB), Druw Bowen (WR), Tevin Bush (RB), Brendan Ferns (LB), Will Grier (QB), Osman Kamara (S), Jake Long (CB), Dominique Maiden (WR), Lamonte McDougle (DL), Quondarius Qualls (LB), Xavier Pegues (DL) Derrek Pitts Jr. (S), Reggie Roberson Jr (WR), Kenny Robinson (S), Ezekiel Rose (DL), Josh Sills (OL), Evan Staley (K), Dylan Tonkery (LB), Kelby Wickline (OL) and Corey Winfield (CB)
Injuries/Suspensions: West Virginia will be without redshirt sophomore David Long for at least the opener against Virginia Tech as he recovers from an off-season knee injury. Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Jacob Buccigrossi also isn’t expected back until sometime later in the year after a torn ACL during the spring. As for suspensions, sophomore wide receiver Marcus Simms will return after sitting out the opener against Virginia Tech.
Redshirts: Five true freshmen played in the season opener against Virginia Tech in Tevin Bush (RB), Lamonte McDougle (DL), Derrek Pitts Jr. (S), Reggie Roberson Jr. (WR) and Kenny Robinson (S). A total of seven redshirt freshmen have seen action for the Mountaineers in 2017: Druw Bowen (WR), Brendan Ferns (LB), Osman Kamara (S), Jake Long (CB), Josh Sills (OL), Evan Staley (K) and Dylan Tonkery (LB).
POINTS TO CLICK:
--Avoid a letdown. It’s a short week after a heart breaking loss to a bitter rival. West Virginia will have to come out ready to play and not overlook an East Carolina team that will be coming into the game after losing to an FCS opponent, albeit a very good one in James Madison. Games aren’t won on paper however and West Virginia will have to be prepared and come out ready to go against the Pirates. Starting fast and keeping the pedal to the floor will be key in this one to wipe the taste of losing out of the Mountaineers mouth in an emphatic way.
--Do you on offense. West Virginia rolled up 592 yards against a very talented Virginia Tech defense, arguably the most talented that the Mountaineers will see all year. That number is quite impressive considering the fact that it was the first game of the season for the Mountaineers and the biggest jump typically happens between week one and week two. East Carolina’s defense just surrendered over 600 yards to FCS opponent James Madison, including 400-yards on the ground, which means that there will be opportunities for the unit to put up big totals again. While some areas need to improve especially when it comes to putting the ball in the end zone, this is a good chance to build on that success.
--Be smart on defense, take steps. The West Virginia defense wasn’t horrible against Virginia Tech but some break downs especially in the secondary and in the run game allowed the Hokies to take a very promising start and roll up a total of 469 yards. The Mountaineers will need more consistency on that unit, as well as less mistakes that can turn into big chunks of yards. For replacing eight starters there were a lot of positives week one, but there is a great chance to take the next step in progress as a unit and become a more complete group where those miscues aren’t as noticeable.
--Build depth. West Virginia is a heavy favorite in this game and the ideal plan would be to get a lead early, get some valuable snaps for the starting units and then help develop depth. West Virginia is going to need players to step up at a variety of positions in order to make it through the season and that will be key at spots like wide receiver and offensive line on the offensive unit. Defense is even more pressing with the Mountaineers needing a number of backups to take that next leap. West Virginia will need more linebackers especially to emerge where only three played the bulk of the snaps and cornerback where the same thing occurred. Finding more capable safeties also will be key. That’s what early season games are for and a good team should be able to put itself in that position.
--Run the football. Grier has received a lot of attention, but this offense's bread and butter, at least coming into the year, is what it can do with its options in the backfield. West Virginia has six players that can take carries and if the Mountaineers are able to run the football effectively it opens up the playbook in a variety of ways. The running backs didn’t touch the ball as much as expected against Virginia Tech in large part because of the way the Hokies loaded the box. But after giving up over 400-yards rushing to James Madison, the Mountaineers should have chances to get the ground game rolling.
--Turnovers. West Virginia is 81-11 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle which is a very telling sign. The Mountaineers will need to take care of the football and not allow the Pirates to take advantage of any cheap scores or momentum killing mistakes. This is a game that West Virginia is favored and they will need to avoid miscues to fulfill that.
