West Virginia is set to take on Houston in a Thursday night contest and here is a look at some of the key items and numbers heading into the matchup.
--This will be the first meeting between West Virginia and Houston. The Cougars are led by former Mountaineers head coach Dana Holgorsen who amassed a 61-41 record over eight seasons. However, five years have passed since Holgorsen’s departure and only one player remains from his tenure in cornerback Malachi Ruffin. A total of only three players he recruited are still on the roster.
--Houston coaches Doug Belk (associate head coach/defensive coordinator), Mike Burchett (quarterbacks), Mark Scott (special teams coordinator), Daikiel Shorts Jr. (wide receivers), Darl Bauer (director of strength and perfor- mance), Kevin McCadam (assistant director of strength and performance), Nate Majnaric (assistant strength and performance coach), Ryan Dorchester (assistant athletics director/ general manager), Casey Smithson (director of player personnel), Dylan August (offensive analyst) and T.J. Simmons (offensive graduate assistant) either played at WVU or were on the staff while Holgorsen was the head coach of the Mountaineers.
--The Mountaineers are 39-33-3 in games played on Thursdays, including 15-13 in games played on Thursday nights. WVU has won 13 of the last 19 games played on Thursday night.
--West Virginia has connected on just 31-56 play-action passes on the season for 404 yards with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. When it comes to deep balls, the Mountaineers have completed just 7-20 passes for 266 yards. During the bye week, the Mountaineers implemented more passing concepts and have focused on that during team period in order to take a step forward in that department.
