MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia meets East Carolina in its 2017 home open at Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 9, in a game that will kick off at noon.
 
Fans are encouraged to wear their gold Saturday as part of "Gold Rush" to official greet Dana Holgorsen's 2017 Mountaineers on the home turf.
 
ECU, 0-1 following last Saturday's 34-17 loss to James Madison, is making its first visit to Morgantown since 2009 when the Mountaineers outlasted the Pirates 35-20. Although West Virginia has won all 13 meetings against East Carolina in Morgantown, there have been some very competitive games.
 
In 1996, West Virginia had to stop a two-point conversion at the end of the game to defeat the Pirates 10-9. A year later, a second-half kickoff return helped the Mountaineers outlast the Pirates 24-17. In 2005, East Carolina had the football at midfield, trailing 20-15, when the clock expired.
 
Overall, West Virginia leads the series 18-3 with all three ECU coming in the Old North State - 23-20 in 1995, 30-23 in 1999 in Charlotte, and 24-3 in 2008.
 
WVU is 97-19-6 all-time in home openers and 32-4-1 in home openers at Milan Puskar Stadium. The last time East Carolina came to Morgantown to open the home schedule was 2004, a Mountaineer 56-23 victory.
 
FS2 (Brian Custer and Ben Leber) will televise the game nationally. The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG's radio coverage begins with the Mountaineer Tailgate Show at 8:30 a.m. leading into regular game coverage at 11 a.m. with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning.
 
Here is Saturday's Countdown to Kickoff:
 
10 - East Carolina has qualified for a bowl game TEN times since 2000, including three out of the last five seasons.
 
9 - West Virginia has won its last NINE home openers by an average of 27.4 points per game.
 
8 - Linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton and cornerback Hakeem Bailey led West Virginia with EIGHT tackles during last Sunday's 31-24 loss to Virginia Tech at FedExField in Landover, Maryland.
 
7 - West Virginia has scored 50 or more points in a game SEVEN times under coach Dana Holgorsen, the last time coming on Sept. 6, 2014 against Towson (54-0 victory).
 
6 - Senior running back Justin Crawford had his SIXTH career 100-yard rushing performance against Virginia Tech last Sunday, carrying the ball 13 times for 106 yards against the Hokies.
 
5 - FIVE true freshmen got into last Sunday's game against Virginia Tech: Tevin Bush, Lamonte McDougle, Derek Pitts, Reggie Roberson and Kenny Robinson.
 
4 - Dana Holgorsen-coached teams have produced FOUR of West Virginia's five best total offensive performances, including a school-record 807 yards against Baylor on Sept. 29, 2012.
 
3 - THREE of East Carolina's 13 loss to West Virginia in Morgantown have been decided by seven points or less - one point in 1996, seven points in 1997 and five points in 2005.
 
2 - Junior Gary Jennings' SECOND career start against Virginia Tech last Sunday resulted in a 13-catch, 189-yard, touchdown performance against the Hokies.
 
1 - Dana Holgorsen has lost only ONE non-conference home game in his six-plus seasons coaching the Mountaineers, that coming in his first season in 2011 against LSU.
 
Enjoy the game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete postgame coverage.