Game Preview: WVU vs. Miami

No. 12/14 West Virginia (10-2) will take on a familiar foe when the Mountaineers meet Miami (8-4) in the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando Wednesday evening.

The Mountaineers will look to reach the eleven-win mark for only the sixth time in program history and put a cap on a successful season by taking on a Miami team from the ACC that finished the season winning its last four games in convincing fashion.

This will be the fifth bowl appearance for West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen and the third straight. Overall, he is 2-2 in those games while the Mountaineers are 15-19 all-time record in bowls.

West Virginia will be playing in a version of the Russell Athletic Bowl for the fourth time losing to both South Carolina 24-21 in 1995 and Georgia Tech 35-30 in 1997 in the Carquest Bowl. The Mountaineers also fell to N.C. State 23-7 in the 2010 Champs Sports Bowl.

The game is set to be played in Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

The Mountaineers and Hurricanes met as Big East Conference opponents for 13 years but last played in 2003 when Miami moved to the ACC Conference. That game was a wild 22-20 Hurricanes win that is best remembered for West Virginia running back Quincy Wilson’s catch and run for a touchdown to put the Mountaineers ahead in the final minutes before Miami answered with a game-winning field goal.

Overall this is the 20th meeting between the two schools with the Hurricanes holding a 16-3 advantage. West Virginia last beat Miami in 1997 a 28-17 win in Coral Gables but since then the Hurricanes have won the past six meetings in the series between the two teams.

But these are two entirely different teams with different players and coaching staffs. Since the last meeting between the two, Miami has not had a ten-win season and has gone 2-7 in bowl games while having three different head coaches. But this is a Hurricanes team that is on the rise.

The Hurricanes are led by first year head coach Mark Richt, who returned to his alma mater after a successful career at Georgia where he led the Bulldogs to a 145-51 mark over 15 seasons. During that time in Athens, he won two SEC Championships with Georgia and six SEC east titles.

Richt will be coaching in his 15th career bowl game, holding a 9-5 record during his career. This will be the first time that Richt will be coaching against West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen and the second time he has gone against the Mountaineers with the first being a loss in the 2006 Sugar Bowl.

The Hurricanes pro-style offense is led by junior quarterback Brad Kaaya, who is in his third season as the starting quarterback in Miami. Kaaya is the all-time passing leader in Miami history with 9,686 yards and helps guide an offense that averages 34.6 points and 431.2 yards per contest.

Kaaya has completed 61.2-percent of his passes while throwing for 3,250 yards and 23 touchdowns and only seven interceptions on the season spreading the ball around to his various weapons.

On the receiving end of his passes are a number of players with senior wide receiver Stacy Coley the team leader in catches with 58 grabs for 703 yards and 9 touchdowns and true freshman Ahmmon Richards, who broke Michael Irvin’s freshman receiving record this past season with 46 grabs for 866 yards and a pair of scores, are the two biggest threats out wide.

The Hurricanes also feature a standout tight end in redshirt sophomore David Njoku, who has hauled in 38 passes for 654 yards and 7 touchdowns. A true mismatch, Njoku has the size to line up on the line and the athleticism to split out and play wide receiver if need be. The Hurricanes also will use Chris Herndon at the tight end spot and he has caught 25 passes for 296 yards and two scores.

A one-time West Virginia recruiting target, sophomore Mark Walton is the engine to the success on the ground for the Hurricanes piling up 1,065 yards and 14 touchdowns. Walton has rushed for over 100 yards in six games this season and is currently eighth in the single-season rushing mark at Miami.

His primary backup is another name familiar to those in West Virginia recruiting circles in junior Joe Yearby who has 592 yards and seven touchdowns.

While Miami shows the ability to control the ball on the ground, the Hurricanes also have big play potential with athletes across the board and a good offensive line.

“They don’t turn the ball over, they can score at any point and they can control the clock. It’s going to be a huge challenge for our defense,” Holgorsen said.

The Miami defense is an athletic and aggressive unit that is led by first-year defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. The Hurricanes are holding teams to 4.84 yards per play, which is 11th nationally while overall Miami is ranked as the No. 13 team in scoring defense allowing only 18.9 points per game. Overall, Miami is rated as the nation’s No. 27 total defense giving up 355.3 yards per contest.

The Hurricanes defense also ranks No. 23 nationally in sacks and No. 6 in tackles for loss and are an aggressive unit that will come after opposing quarterbacks.

“(Diaz) plays a lot of odd-front, likes to blitz, has guys coming from everywhere,” Holgorsen said.

The Miami special teams units also are strong with punter Justin Vogel earning All-ACC honors by averaging 44.2 yards per kick and junior kicker Michael Badgley has connected on 20 of his 25 field goal attempts for the Hurricanes this season also earning All-ACC honors.

The Hurricanes also are one of the nation’s best at blocking kicks with five coming on punts and three on field goals. In the return game, Miami is 12th in the nation in punt return average at 12.9 per return in large part due to the play of junior Braxton Berrios who has returned a punt for a score this year.

The game will kick off at 5:30 p.m.

West Virginia Depth Chart:

OFFENSE:

QB - 3 Skyler Howard (Sr), 11 Chris Chugunov (r-Fr)

FB – 28 Elijah Wellman (r-Jr), 47 Michael Ferns (r-So)

RB – 7 Rushel Shell (r-Sr), 25 Justin Crawford (Jr), 4 Kennedy McKoy (Fr), 32 Martell Pettaway (Fr)

WR (X) - 1 Shelton Gibson (r-Jr), 12 Gary Jennings (So)

WR (Z) – 5 Jovon Durante (So), 8 Marcus Simms (Fr)

IR (Y) - 6 Daikiel Shorts (Sr), 82 Devonte Mathis (r-Sr)

LT - 57 Adam Pankey (r-Sr), 74 Sylvester Townes (r-Sr)

LG –70 Tony Matteo (r-Sr), 56 Grant Lingafelter (r-Jr)

C - 65 Tyler Orlosky (r-Sr), 79 Matt Jones (r-Fr)

RG - 62 Kyle Bosch (r-Jr), 56 Grant Lingafelter (r-Jr)

RT - 53 Colton McKivitz (r-Fr), 77 Marcell Lazard (r-Jr)

DEFENSE:

DE - 97 Noble Nwachukwu (r-Sr), 88 Adam Shuler (r-Fr)

NT - 49 Darrien Howard (Sr), 67 Alec Shriner (r-Fr)

DE - 95 Christian Brown (r-Sr), 92 Jon Lewis (r-Jr)

SAM – 30 Justin Arndt (r-Sr), 5 Xavier Preston (Jr)

MIKE - 3 Al-Rasheed Benton (r-Jr), 44 Hodari Christian (r-Jr)

WILL – 11 David Long (r-Fr), 27 Sean Walters (r-Sr)

CB – 24 Maurice Fleming (r-Sr), 1 Antonio Crawford (r-Sr)

FS – 2 Jeremy Tyler (Sr), 16 Toyous Avery (r-So)

SPUR – 8 Kyzir White (Jr), 18 Marvin Gross, Jr. (r-Jr)

BS - 22 Jarrod Harper (r-Sr), 7 Khairi Shariff (r-Sr)

CB – 13 Rasul Douglas (r-Sr), 19 Elijah Battle (Jr)

SPECIAL TEAMS:

PK - 48 Mike Molina (r-Jr), 80 Jonn Young (Fr)

P - 15 Billy Kinney (r-So), 80 Jonn Young (Fr)

LS -46 Nick Meadows (r-Jr), 43 R.C. Brunstetter (r-So)

H – 15 Billy Kinney (r-So), 80 Jonn Young (Fr)

KO - 48 Mike Molina (r-Jr), 15 Billy Kinney (r-So)

PR - 12 Gary Jennings (So)

KR - 1 Shelton Gibson (r-Jr), 12 Gary Jennings (So)

Notes:

--Coaching assignments for this season include: DC/LB Tony Gibson (field), OC/TE-FB Joe Wickline (press box), CB Blue Adams (press box), WR Tyron Carrier (field), S Matt Caponi (field), OL Ron Crook (field), D/ST Mark Scott (field), RB JaJuan Seider (field), DL Bruce Tall (press box)

--West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen has never gone against Miami or head coach Mark Richt. Richt, however, is 0-1 against West Virginia losing the 2006 Sugar Bowl when at Georgia.

--West Virginia is 15-19 in Bowl Games. Head coach Dana Holgorsen is 2-2. The Mountaineers are 4-11 against the current team configuration of the ACC all-time.

--West Virginia is 2-9 in bowl games played in the state of Florida all-time, but the 70-33 win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl is the most recent in 2012.

--West Virginia has won 15 of its last 18 games

--A total of 28 players have seen their first WVU action this season: CB Jordan Adams, S Toyous Avery, CB Elijah Battle, QB Chris Chugunov, CB Antonio Crawford, RB Justin Crawford, CB Mike Daniels, OL Rob Dowdy, FB Michael Ferns, CB Maurice Fleiming, DE Reese Donahue, LB Adam Hensley, S Deamonte Lindsay, P Billy Kinney, LB David Long, OL Colton McKivitz, RB Kennedy McKoy, RB Martell Pettaway, LB Zach Sandwisch, DL Alec Shriner, DE Adam Shuler, WR Marcus Simms, WR Steven Smothers, S JoVanni Stewart, S Kyzir White, TE Trevon Wesco, TE Stone Wolfley, S Kevin Williams.

--The 2016 roster consists of 120 players from 15 different states.

--There are 34 juniors and seniors on the West Virginia depth chart.

--The West Virginia offensive consists of 19 true freshmen, eight redshirt freshmen, three sophomores, seven redshirt sophomores, one junior, eight redshirt juniors, two seniors and six redshirt seniors.

--Breaking down the West Virginia offensive numbers for the season the Mountaineers have run a total of 918 plays, 535 on the ground and 383 through the air. The rushing game has totaled 2,874 yards for an average of 5.4 yards per carry and 22 touchdowns. The passing attack has totaled 3,209 yards for an average of 14.0 yards per completion and 26 touchdowns.

--The West Virginia offense has gained 132 first downs via the run and 146 via the pass. On average, West Virginia has totaled 239.5 yards per game on the ground, 267.4 yards per game passing.

--The West Virginia offense is ranked No. 12 nationally in total offense.

--West Virginia has had 15 touchdown drives of 80+ yards this season.

--The West Virginia defensive roster includes 20 true freshmen, 10 redshirt freshmen, one sophomore, three redshirt sophomores, nine juniors, four redshirt juniors, two seniors and 10 redshirt seniors.

--The West Virginia defense had held Big 12 opponents to under 50-percent on third down conversions in 28 of 31 games with the lone exceptions being Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.

--The West Virginia defense is holding opponents to 23.4 points per game, good for second in the Big 12 Conference and 36th nationally. The Mountaineers also rank No. 32 in pass efficiency.

--West Virginia has 14 senior starters on its depth chart and 20 seniors on its two deep, the most in the Big 12 Conference.

--West Virginia is 81-11 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle.

--The Mountaineers are No. 14 all-time in college football winning percentage.

--Since 2000, West Virginia is 107-13 when scoring 30 or more points in a contest.

Injuries/Suspensions: With the time off West Virginia should be close to full strength in this game with safety Kyzir White being questionable with a broken hand. Junior wide receiver Ka'Raun White is out for the season after breaking a bone in his leg. West Virginia junior free safety Dravon Askew-Henry is out for the season with an ACL injury same can be said for redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste. Freshman linebacker Brendan Ferns is also out for the season with an ACL injury. Freshman cornerback Jake Long is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Redshirt sophomore Jaleel Fields is out for the season with a knee injury although he could be back for the bowl game.

Redshirts: West Virginia has played true freshmen running back Kennedy McKoy, defensive end Reese Donahue, running back Martell Pettaway, SAM linebacker Zach Sandwisch and WILL linebacker Adam Hensley, wide receiver Marcus Simms, wide receiver Steven Smothers and safety JoVanni Stewart to this point.

Points to Click:

Offensive consistency. The West Virginia offense has been hard to read at times this season. Sometimes it’s looked like an unstoppable balanced juggernaut, while others it’s been bad to say the least. The Mountaineers must be consistent on offense against a Miami defense that is only allowing 18.9 points and 353.8 yards per game this year. It starts at the top consistent play from senior quarterback Skyler Howard, but the rest of the offense will have to perform in order for the Mountaineers to win this game. Protection up front will be an obvious key giving Howard time to scan the field and get the football to his wide receivers, while West Virginia also must establish the run game to keep Miami off balance. The time off will be key to getting players healthy and the Mountaineers will need a performance much like you saw in the earlier slate as opposed to the season finale against Baylor.

Frustrate Kaaya. Miami’s offense is triggered by the all-time leading passer in Hurricanes history junior quarterback Brad Kaaya. Now in his third year as the starting quarterback for Miami, Kaaya is coming off a season where he tossed for 3,250 yards and 23 touchdowns in 12 games. Seeing a good quarterback is nothing new to the West Virginia defense this season but it will be challenged by the experienced and accurate signal caller for the Hurricanes. One advantage that West Virginia does have is the fact that the Mountaineers 3-3-5 defense is an unusual look and coordinator Tony Gibson has exceled with dialing up blitzes from all areas while disguising where that pressure is coming from. Kaya is one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC and it will be key for West Virginia to prevent him from taking over the game when he does drop back and throw the football. A high football IQ, Kaya gets the football out quickly and is able to make the right reads much more often than not.

Stop the run. Miami has weapons at the wide receiver spot, but the key to Richt’s pro-style scheme is being able to run the football and then attacking down the field. The Hurricanes rush for around 157 yards per game on the season and the key to that attack is sophomore Mark Walton. On the season Walton has rushed for 1,065 yards and 14 touchdowns and behind him are quality backups. West Virginia will have to win on first and second down to force Miami out of comfortable situations and stopping the run will be a big part of that in this game.

Tight end mismatch. Redshirt sophomore tight end David Njoku is a mismatch as an athletic specimen at the tight end position. Standing 6-foot-4, 245-pounds, Njoku has the size to play on the line and the athleticism to flex out and play wide receiver. The fastest tight end that West Virginia will see this season, Njoku has hauled in 38 passes for 654 yards and 7 touchdowns while splitting time with Christopher Herndon. In the past, the Mountaineers have struggled defending the tight end spot and that will be put to the test against one of the nation’s most difficult match ups at the position.

Play sound on special teams. This is on here every week and if you’ve watched a game this season it’s easy to see why. While there have been positives at times, the West Virginia special teams units have been an adventure of sorts. Miami has the personnel to cause issues for the Mountaineers in all areas, but capitalizing in this department and avoiding any major breakdowns will be essential. Miami has blocked eight kicks this season and boasts two all-ACC performers at the kicker and punter positions which could make things tough in this area. The Hurricanes also average 12.9 per punt return.

Score touchdowns in the red zone: West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen has said that the Mountaineers are shooting for at least a 50-percent touchdown rate in the red zone. It’s been a mixed bag to date this season and it even complicates things further that the Mountaineers have had issues with the kicking department. Miami has a good defensive unit that is athletic and will challenge the Mountaineers offense. Things will get tight in the red zone and the Mountaineers have to come out of those situations with six points instead of three against a stingy Hurricanes defense.

Turnovers: This is an area that goes without saying as turnovers both avoiding them on offense as well as forcing them on the defensive side play a giant role in deciding the overall outcome of games. West Virginia has lost two games this season and both were when the Mountaineers lost the turnover battle. That is not a coincidence and holding onto the football while forcing Miami into mistakes will be key.