Countdown to Kickoff
November 19, 2002 02:16 PM | General
November 19, 2002
BLACKSBURG, Va. –West Virginia (7-3, 4-1) visits Virginia Tech (8-2, 3-2) for a 7 p.m. Big East game on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg. The game will be televised by ESPN2 (Steve Levy, Rod Gilmore and Alex Flanagan).
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| West Virginia quarterback Rasheed Marshall has rushed for at least one touchdown in seven of 10 games this season. |
The Mountaineers traveled by bus to Blacksburg Tuesday, stopping for a pep rally in Summersville, W.Va., before a brief afternoon workout.
West Virginia is searching for its first win against the Hokies since 1997.
Here is Wednesday’s Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – Virginia Tech has won TEN of the last 13 games played against West Virginia. The Mountaineers’ last victory against the Hokies came in Morgantown in 1997; West Virginia’s last win against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg came in 1992.
9 – Virginia Tech has played NINE previous football games on Wednesday.
8 – The Virginia Tech defense has produced three or more turnovers in EIGHT games this season. In the other two games against LSU and Rutgers, Tech managed to produced two turnovers each.
7 – West Virginia quarterback Rasheed Marshall has rushed for touchdowns in SEVEN of 10 games this season. The only games he failed to rush for at least one TD was against Tennessee-Chattanooga, Maryland and Boston College.
6 – West Virginia has won SIX times in Blacksburg, but has lost four straight. The last time West Virginia won at Blacksburg was 1992 when the Mountaineers came out on the positive end of a 16-7 decision.
5 – All FIVE of Virginia Tech’s touchdown drives during regulation covered more than 70 yards against Syracuse.
4 – West Virginia running back Avon Cobourne is one of just five players in NCAA history to have rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of their FOUR collegiate seasons. The other four are Tony Dorsett (Pitt), Amos Lawrence (North Carolina), Denvis Manns (New Mexico State) and Ron Dayne (Wisconsin).
3 – Virginia Tech has turned over the football 12 times in its last THREE games, including eight in the last two losses to Pitt and Syracuse. Prior to that three-game stretch, the Hokies turned the ball over just seven times in seven games.
2 – West Virginia has the nation’s SECOND-ranked rushing offense this week with an average of 294.9 yards per game. West Virginia has rushed for more than 200 yards in eight of 10 games including five straight entering Wednesday night’s game.
1 – Virginia Tech’s 39 quarterback sacks rank FIRST in the Big East Conference. The Hokies have also produced 80 tackles for losses for a total of 119 negative yardage plays.
Enjoy Wednesday’s game and be sure to stop by MSNsportsNET.com afterward for complete postgame coverage.
