Game Preview: WVU vs. Texas Tech

No. 18/20 West Virginia (4-0, 1-0) will look to remain unbeaten in the first true road game of the season when the Mountaineers travel to Texas Tech (3-2, 1-1) to take on one of the nation’s top offensive units.

The Mountaineers are fresh off a bye week and will hit the road to Lubbock for a matchup against the Red Raiders. The two programs have split the first four meetings since West Virginia joined the Big 12 with the Mountaineers winning the past two games, including the most recent one in Lubbock.

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury is in his fourth season atop the Red Raiders football program and the one-time Texas Tech quarterback has amassed a career record of 22-21 during that span.

There are obvious connections between the two programs. West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen coached at Texas Tech from 2000-07 serving as the inside wide receivers coach before being elevated to co-offensive coordinator. The head coach also gave Kingsbury his first coaching opportunity when he moved to Houston, where the two actually were roommates at the time.

Holgorsen currently has a 2-1 record against Kingsbury during his tenure and is 2-2 against the Red Raiders overall since joining the league.

Sporting one of the nation’s best offenses, Texas Tech is averaging 55.2 points per game and 649 yards per game, including 544-yards per contest through the air. Nationally the Red Raiders have the second best unit in the country when it comes to both scoring and total offense and first in passing offense. The outfit is similar to what West Virginia is used to with an up-tempo attack that will spread the field and get the football to its playmakers in space to move the football.

When it comes to offensive football this will be the biggest challenge of the season for defensive coordinator Tony Gibson’s unit to date.

Junior quarterback Patrick Mahomes II is back for the Red Raiders to trigger the offense and has developed into one of the best quarterbacks in college football. Through five games, Mahomes has already thrown for 2,274 yards and 20 touchdowns while completing 72.8 percent of his passes. He has thrown only a total of four interceptions and also has accounted for seven rushing touchdowns while showing an ability to keep plays alive with his feet and move the chains.

Mahomes is dealing with a shoulder injury but was able to play against Kansas State, a 44-38 Red Raiders loss, and threw for 504 yards and a 2 touchdowns. Kingsbury has said he is day-to-day.

The signal-caller also has a bevy of weapons to distribute the ball to with seven players catching at least ten passes this season. Sophomore Jonathan Giles leads the Red Raiders with 35 catches for 614 yards and 7 touchdowns, while junior Cameron Batson with 28 catches for 341 yard and 5 touchdowns, junior Dylan Cantrell 26 catches for 319 yards and 4 touchdowns and senior Devin Lauderdale with 26 catches 249 yards and 2 touchdowns round out some of the options at wide receiver.

In the backfield, Texas Tech is led by sophomore running back Demarcus Felton with 270 yards and a 3 touchdowns on the season, an average of 5.7 per carry.

As has been the case in recent history, the Texas Tech defense has had its struggles in 2016 giving up an average of 38.6 points and 445 yards per game. The Red Raiders rank 99th in total defense and 115th in scoring defense through the first five games of the season but have shown improvement in Big 12 play under second year coordinator David Gibbs allowing only 315 yards per game in two games.

West Virginia won last year’s matchup 31-26, as the Mountaineers were able to hold the Red Raiders offense relatively in check and run the football for 300 yards. A victory would put the Mountaineers at 5-0 for the first time since the 2012 season. It will be the second time that West Virginia has traveled to Lubbock as a ranked team with the last coming during that 2012 season, a 49-14 Red Raiders win.

The game will kick off at 12 p.m. in Lubbock.

West Virginia Depth Chart:

OFFENSE:

QB - 3 Skyler Howard (Sr), 11 Chris Chugunov (r-Fr), 16 William Crest (r-So)

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)

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

WR (Z) – 2 Ka’Raun White (Jr), 82 Devonte Mathis (r-Sr)

IR (Y) - 6 Daikiel Shorts (Sr), 5 Jovon Durante (So)

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

LG – 70 Tony Matteo (r-Sr), 71 Rob Dowdy (r-Fr)

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

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

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

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-Sr), 44 Hodari Christian (r-Jr)

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

CB – 1 Antonio Crawford (r-Sr), 14 Nana Kyeremeh (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), 24 Maurice Fleming (r-Sr)

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 (field), WR Tyron Carrier (field), S Matt Caponi (field), OL Ron Crook (field), D/ST Mark Scott (press box), RB JaJuan Seider (field), DL Bruce Tall (field)

--West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen is 2-1 against Kliff Kingsbury.

--West Virginia is 33-16 in day road games. The Mountaineers are 13-12 in such games under Holgorsen.

--A total of 24 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, P Billy Kinney, LB David Long, OL Colton McKivitz, RB Kennedy McKoy, LB Zach Sandwisch, DL Alec Shriner, DE Adam Shuler, WR Marcus Simms, WR Steven Smothers, S JoVanni Stewart, S Kyzir White and TE Stone Wolfley.

--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 rosters includes 13 players that have started at least one game. The offensive roster 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 315 plays, 164 on the ground and 151 through the air. The rushing game has totaled 749 yards for an average of 4.6 yards per carry and six touchdowns. The passing attack has totaled 1,272 yards for an average of 13.0 yards per completion and seven touchdowns.

--The West Virginia offense has gained 33 first downs via the run and 61 via the pass.

--The West Virginia offense ranks No. 14 nationally in sacks allowed, No. 16 in total offense, No. 17 in passing offense, No. 33 in third down conversions.

--The West Virginia defensive roster includes 6 players that have started at least one game. The West Virginia defensive rosters 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 is No. 8 nationally in pass efficiency defense and No. 27 in scoring defense.

--The West Virginia defense has held Big 12 opponents to under 50-percent on third down conversions in 22 consecutive games. That's a streak that dates back to 2013.

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

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

--Since 2000, West Virginia is 103-13 when scoring 30 or more points in a contest.

Injuries/Suspensions: 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. Redshirt junior Xavier Pegues is out until late October with a shoulder injury. Overall, West Virginia will be healthy for this contest after the bye week but redshirt senior kicker Josh Lambert left the program following his only appearance of the season.

Redshirts: West Virginia has played true freshmen running back Kennedy McKoy, defensive end Reese Donahue, 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:

Run the football. Texas Tech is allowing 179-yards per game on the ground, while West Virginia is rushing for 187 per contest. The Mountaineers have the offense to get in a track meet with the Red Raiders but on the road it will be important to establish the run and control the line of scrimmage to keep the score more like it was a year ago than a full blown shootout. Last season the Mountaineers rushed for a total of 300 yards against the Red Raiders, with two running backs eclipsing the 100-yard mark. West Virginia was able to move the football and keep the Red Raiders offense on the sideline as the Texas Tech offense only piled up half of its yards per game average. The old saying is if it’s not broke don’t fix it and I expect a heavy dose of redshirt senior Rushel Shell and junior Justin Crawford.

Avoid a slow start. Texas Tech has scored 50 points at homes nine games in a row. That's an NCAA record. The Red Raiders are averaging over 60 points and 600 yards of total offense in home games so the Mountaineeers can not afford to start slow out of the gates and find themselves in a hole early. Same can be said on the other side as the defense will have to do its job and prevent the Red Raiders from making it ten consecutive games over the 50-point plateau.

Make them earn it. Texas Tech is predicated on making big plays down the field and taking advantage of space on the field. The Red Raiders have success attacking the blitz and while it has been the recipe for defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, the plan here could be to make the Red Raiders drive the field and earn the yardage as opposed to giving up holes in the back end. Now, we are talking about the same defensive coordinator that basically played cover-0 against Baylor for the entire game two years ago but when the Mountaineers do bring pressure they have to hit home. There’s a good chance that there will be quite a few possessions in this game and not giving up anything cheap will be key on the road.

Stop the run. It seems easy enough as Texas Tech averages only 105 yards per game on the ground but West Virginia can’t afford to give up chunks of yards on the ground when the Red Raiders do elect to run the football. It’s hard enough to stop the passing aspect of this offense, but if they are able to keep the Mountaineers off balance it could be a long day at the office for West Virginia.

Win third down. West Virginia has not allowed a Big 12 opponent to convert over 50-percent of its third down attempts in 22 games, a streak that spans back into the 2013 season. Texas Tech is one of the nation's best converting 53-percent of their attempts this season. One is going to have to give in this matchup. West Virginia was very successful in forcing the Red Raiders to kick field goals a season ago and the Mountaineers will have to do much of the same in this game.

Stay disciplined and take what’s there. Statistically this Texas Tech outfit is one of the worst defenses in college football allowing 445 yards and 38.6 points per game. West Virginia has the talent to put up points on this defense and has to avoid self-inflicted mistakes to put points on the board. West Virginia has done a great job to date taking advantage of what opposing defenses have given them and that will need to be the case here as well. Avoid negative plays and keep the chains moving to limit the Texas Tech offense and keep pace in what could be a high-scoring affair in Lubbock.

Hit Mahomes as much as you can. Mahomes is one of the best quarterbacks in college football but is dealing with a shoulder injury that appeared to limit him in the second half against Kansas State. Still, he is one of the premier options not only in the Big 12 but in the nation and when the West Virginia defense does bring pressure they have to make sure to hit him and get him to the ground at all times. Not only an accurate quarterback, Mahomes has the ability to extend plays and buy time in order to throw the football when wide receivers get open or even take off himself. This will be no easy task for the West Virginia defense but the Mountaineers must try to make things difficult here by affecting the quarterback when they get there.

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 but in the season opener fell short of that goal punching the ball in only one time out of five and then only one out of three against Youngstown State. Things were much better against BYU, scoring touchdowns four out of five times but took a step back against Kansas State. That was an Achilles heel for the West Virginia offense last season and will continue to keep teams in games until the Mountaineers can turn those field goals into touchdowns. Whether it’s a combination of play calling, execution or bad luck West Virginia has to convert opportunities into touchdowns and that could be big.

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. The Mountaineers lost the battle 3-1 in the opener but still managed to come out with a victory and was even against Youngstown State. The Mountaineers flipped the script against BYU and won the battle 4-2, with 14 of their points coming off turnovers. The unit then lost to Kansas State 2-1. This defense is going to allow yards, but forcing key turnovers will be essential and avoiding them on offense is a must against a Texas Tech team that wants to make this into a track meet.