Game Preview: WVU vs. Youngstown State

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Series: West Virginia leads 2-0

Last meeting: 2016: WVU 38 YSU 21

Television: 6 p.m. AT&T SportNet, Rob King (play-by-play), Rasheed Marshall (analyst), Marc Bulger (sideline)

No. 14/17 West Virginia will play the only non-power five program on its schedule Saturday when the Mountaineers host Youngstown State in the home opener.

The Mountaineers are coming off an impressive 40-14 win over Tennessee where the offense scored 27 points with touchdowns on four of five drives in the second half to pull away from the Volunteers in a neutral site contest in Charlotte.

It was a showcase game for fifth year senior quarterback Will Grier who tossed for a career high 429 yards with five touchdowns to start his season on a high note. It was the first meeting between the two teams and West Virginia was able to start the season 1-0 for the sixth time under Dana Holgorsen.

Youngstown State is coming off a shocking 23-21 loss to Butler where the Penguins led by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter before allowing 16 unanswered points to close the game. Butler kicked a 44-yard field goal with only four seconds remaining to score the victory as 37-point dogs.

Beginning the season rated No. 24 in the FCS pre-season polls, the Penguins have dealt with a rash of attrition with only eight players still available from the 2016 team that advanced to the title game and injuries including to arguably their best defender Florida transfer Justus Reed.

Head Coach Bo Pelini is now in his fourth season atop the Penguins football program and has amassed 23-16 overall record during that time. In his coaching career, Pelini has amassed a 90-43 record and has been known for his prowess on the defensive side of the ball.

This is the third meeting all time between West Virginia and Youngstown State with the most recent coming in 2016 when the Mountaineers won 38-21. That same year the Penguins advanced to the FCS title game with a 12-4 overall record, the best of Pelini’s tenure.

Youngstown State features new coordinators on both sides of the ball with Brian Crist taking over the offensive duties and Richard McNutt and Donald D’Alesio on defense after last year’s coordinators took positions with FBS programs.

On offense, Montgomery VanGorder, a transfer from Notre Dame, was the starting quarterback last week and threw a trio of touchdowns in his first as the Penguins signal caller. He has several talented wide receivers to throw the ball to but the majority are inexperienced.

But the bread and butter of the Penguins multiple offensive attack is on the ground and senior Tevin McCaster is coming off a game where he rushed for 166 yards on 29 carries. One of the best backs in the Missouri Valley Conference, McCaster rushed for 41 yards on 12 attempts when Youngstown State traveled to Morgantown during the 2016 season.

On the defensive side, the Penguins are missing a number of players that were set to begin the season as starters with three season-ending injuries to Reed, safety Kyle Hegedus to a torn ACL and free safety Deshon Taylor to a career-ending spinal problem in camp.

That has caused some shuffling around but the Penguins will use a 4-3 look that will get into nickel packages. The unit struggled to stop Butler allowing 339 total yards, including 253 through the air.

Youngstown State has been a giant killer of sorts over the years holding a 20-30-1 mark against FBS opponents and most recently defeated Pittsburgh in 2012 and lost to the Panthers in overtime last year. However, the program has lost five straight to FBS teams including that 2016 defeat to the Mountaineers in Morgantown.

Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and will be televised by AT&T SportNet.

West Virginia Depth Chart:

OFFENSE:

QB: 7 Will Grier, (r-Sr.), 17 Jack Allison, (r-So.)

RB: 4 Kennedy McKoy (Jr.) or 32 Martell Pettaway (Jr.) or 20 Alec Sinkfield (r-Fr) or 4 Leddie Brown (Fr.)

FB: 42 Logan Thimons, (r-So.), 41 Elijah Drummond, (r-So.)

TE/H: 88 Trevon Wesco, (r-Sr.), 84 Jovani Haskins, (r-So.)

X WR: 8 Marcus Simms, (Jr.), 82 Dominique Maiden, (Sr.)

Y WR: 12 Gary Jennings, Jr., (Sr.), 16 William Crest, (r-Sr.)

Z WR: 13 David Sills V, (Sr.), 1 T.J. Simmons, (r-So.)

LT: 55 Yodny Cajuste, (r-Sr.), 72 Kelby Wickline, (r-Jr.)

LG: 73 Josh Sills, (r-So.), 57 Michael Brown, (r-Jr.)

C: 79 Matt Jones, (r-Jr.), 78 Jacob Buccigrossi, (r-So.)

RG: 58 Joe Brown, (r-Jr.), 65 Isaiah Hardy, (Sr.)

RT: 53 Colton McKivitz, (r-Jr.), 76 Chase Behrndt, (r-So.)

DEFENSE:

DE: 5 Ezekiel Rose, (Sr.) or 46 Reese Donahue, (Jr.)

NT: 40 Kenny Bigelow, (Sr.), 56 Darius Stills, (So.)

DE: 12 Jabril Robinson, (r-Sr.), 55 Dante Stills, (Fr.)

SAM LB: 17 Exree Loe, (r-Fr.), 34 Shea Campbell, (r-Jr.)

MIKE LB: 10 Dylan Tonkery, (r-So.), 45 Adam Hensley, (Jr.)

WILL LB: 11 David Long, Jr. (r-Jr.), 35 Josh Chandler, (Fr.)

SPUR: 6 Dravon Askew-Henry, (r-Sr.), 26 Deamonte Lindsay, (r-Jr.)

BS: 16 Toyous Avery, (r-Sr.), 9 JoVanni Stewart, (Jr.)

FS: 2 Kenny Robinson, (So.), 29 Sean Mahone, (r-So.)

LCB: 24 Hakeem Bailey, (r-Jr.), 28 Keith Washington, (r-Jr.)

RCB: 1 Derrek Pitts, (So.) or 4 Josh Norwood, (Jr.)

SPECIAL TEAMS:

K: 30 Evan Staley (r-So.), 43 Luke Hogan, (r-So.)

P: 15 Billy Kinney, (r-Sr.), 30 Evan Staley, (r-So.)

LS: 64 Rex Sunahara, (r-Jr.), 51 Kyle Poland, (r-So.)

H: 15 Billy Kinney, (r-Sr.), 43 Luke Hogan, (r-So.)

KO: 30 Evan Staley, (r-So.), 43 Luke Hogan, (r-So.)

PR: 8 Marcus Simms (Jr.), 13 David Sills, V, (Sr.)

KOR: 8 Marcus Simms (Jr.) 12 Gary Jennings, Jr., (Sr.)

NOTES:

--This year marks the 127th year of West Virginia football with the Mountaineers currently sitting in 14th place all-time in wins in college football.

--West Virginia is 21-5 in September under head coach Dana Holgorsen and 15-2 at home.

--West Virginia has never lost to an FCS opponent going 18-0 including 7-0 under Holgorsen.

--Since 2000, West Virginia is 113-16 when scoring more than 30 points and 58-4 when scoring more than 40 points in a game.

--The Mountaineers are 83-11 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle.

--In the Holgorsen era, WVU has produced 84 games with 300 or more yards, 64 games with 400 or more yards, 35 games with more than 500 yards and 17 with more than 600 yards.

--Under Holgorsen West Virginia has scored 30 or more points in 59 games, 40 or more points in 30 games, 50 or more points in 10 games and 60 or more points three times.

--The 2018 roster consists of 122 players from 22 different states.

--A total of 16 players have seen their first on-the-field action at West Virginia Charlie Benton (LB), Kenny Bigelow (DL), Joe Brown (OL), Leddie Brown (RB), Jacob Buccigrossi (OL), Shea Campbell (LB), Josh Chandler (LB), Jovani Haskins (TE), Luke Hogan (K), Exree Loe (LB), Josh Norwood (CB), Jabril Robinson (DL), T.J. Simmons (WR), Alec Sinkfield (RB), Dante Stills (DL), Keith Washington (CB)

--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), TE/FB Dan Gerberry (press box), RB Marquel Blackwell (field), LB/ST Mark Scott (press box), DL Bruce Tall (press box), OL Joe Wickline (field)

--West Virginia has run a total of 61 plays, 27 on the ground and 34 through the air. The rushing game has totaled 118 yards for an average of 4.4 yards per carry and zero touchdowns. The passing game was accounted for 429 yards and five touchdowns. The offense is averaging 9.0 yards per play.

--West Virginia has gained six first downs by the run and 18 via the pass. The Mountaineers are averaging 118.0 yards per game on the ground and 429.0 through the air for 547 yards of total offense.

Injuries/Suspensions: Redshirt sophomore linebacker Charlie Benton will miss the remainder of the season after sustaining a knee injury against Tennessee in the season opener. Senior linebacker Quondarius Qualls and redshirt sophomore linebacker Brendan Ferns are out for some time with ACL injuries sustained in the spring but are expected to return this season. Redshirt sophomore cornerback Jake Long will be out for an unspecified amount of time with a broken wrist but also is expected to return. Two true freshmen in tight end Mike O’Laughlin (ACL) and Dillon Spalding (ankle) will miss the entire 2018 season after undergoing surgery.

POINTS TO CLICK:

--Take care of business. These are the type of games where there are two goals at hand. Most importantly get the victory but you want to try to build a lead as quickly as possible in order to get your starters out of the game and allow for some valuable reps for the second and third teamers. Youngstown State has been a very good FCS program over the years, but West Virginia shouldn’t have any issues building a lead against a team that just lost to Butler with no scholarship athletes on their roster. The Mountaineers are coming off an impressive season opening debut against Tennessee and now will return home where the focus will be getting a comfortable lead and then allowing some of the younger players on the roster to find their footing and get some valuable reps. Allowing this to be close when you have the clear talent edge is not a good look and only puts players at risk of being hurt so the message is simple for this one. West Virginia needs to get in and get out without any hiccups and especially doesn’t need to allow any hits to quarterback Will Grier.

--Stop the run. Youngstown State has some weapons on the outside and a quarterback in VanGorder that played much better in the second half than the first a week ago, but the bread and butter for the Penguins is on the ground by giving the ball to McCaster and Christian Turner. The Mountaineers held Tennessee in check on the ground last week and will need to do the same in order to make the first point on this list a reality. Youngstown State is going to most likely attempt to control the ball and tempo so the onus will be on the defense to make sure they can’t establish the run.

--Stay fast and efficient. The buzzword all spring and summer came to fruition in the second half against Tennessee as the offense scored touchdowns on four of their five drives and likely would have scored there had it not been for a drive-killing fumble. The Mountaineers took what the Volunteers were giving them as well as chances down the field but Grier stuck with high-percentage passes. The Mountaineers were able to control the ball and string together impressive drives and they’ll need to do that again against a Youngstown State team that allowed 339 yards to Butler.

--Keep up the work defense. The West Virginia defense allowed only 301 yards to Tennessee so the challenge this week will be to continue that against an FCS level opponent. Tackling will be key in this one as well as getting some reps for the players behind on the depth chart to gain experience.

--Special teams be special. Special teams were a strength in week one and with 10 more power five opponents left on the schedule that will remain a key to play well in the third phase. Kickoff, field goals, punt and returns stood out in week one and that upward trajectory needs to continue.

--Turnovers. West Virginia is 83-11 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle or basically as long as the Mountaineers take care of the football and take advantage of other team's mistakes they win a whole lot more than they lose. The best way to let an underdog hang around is not taking care of the football and making mistakes that give them confidence.

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