Countdown to Kickoff
October 02, 2003 10:43 AM | General
october 2, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia (1-3) visits No. 2 Miami (4-0) for a 7:45 pm game at the Orange Bowl (72,319) in Miami on Thursday, Oct. 2. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN (Mike Tirico, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso and Dr. Jerry Punch).
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| West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez rallies the troops Wednesday night before facing No. 2 Miami tonight. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
West Virginia is looking to end a five-game losing streak to Miami; the Mountaineers last won in the Orange Bowl in 1997. However, the Hurricanes are substantial favorites Thursday night.
Here is Thursday night’s Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – Miami has won TEN of 12 games against West Virginia since the start of Big East Conference play in 1991 and has an 8-2 record against WVU since full league play began in 1993.
9 – In Miami’s last NINE losses in the Orange Bowl dating back to 1996, the Hurricanes have given up an average of 27.7 points per game while scoring just 11.6. Miami’s last loss in the Orange Bowl was against Penn State in 1999, a 27-23 Nittany Lion verdict.
8 – West Virginia has started a football season 1-3 EIGHT times. The last time WVU began a year 1-3 was in 1999 when the Mountaineers finished the season with a 4-7 record. Only once has West Virginia managed to finish a year with a winning record after starting 1-3. That came in 1994 when the Mountaineers finished 7-6.
7 – Through four games this season, Miami’s secondary has already intercepted SEVEN passes. With just a third of the season gone, Miami has already managed to produce 11 turnovers.
6 – West Virginia has scored touchdowns on SIX of 10 opportunities inside the red zone this season. Three other times the Mountaineers managed field goals.
5 – West Virginia is looking to pin a FIFTH loss on Miami in Big East play in the Orange Bowl. Since the Hurricanes began league play in 1993, the Hurricanes have a 34-4 conference record in the Orange Bowl.
4 – The West Virginia offense has had just FOUR scoring plays covering more than 30 yards this season. The longest scoring play as a 48-yard pass from Rasheed Marshall to Travis Garvin during the Cincinnati game.
3 – West Virginia has defeated Miami THREE times during the 18-game series. The Mountaineers topped the Hurricanes 20-14 in Miami in 1973, defeated Miami 17-14 in 1993 in Morgantown and came back to down Miami 28-17 in the Orange Bowl in 1997.
2 – West Virginia has won TWO of its last three Big East season openers. Last year the Mountaineers went on the road to defeat Rutgers 40-0 and also downed Boston College 34-14 in the 2000 opener in Morgantown. WVU dropped a 34-10 decision at BC to open the 2001 campaign.
1 – West Virginia has had just ONE scoring drive this year spanning more than 10 plays. The 13-play, 80-yard drive took place in the season opener against Wisconsin and was culminated by a Quincy Wilson 10-yard touchdown run.
Enjoy the game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete post-game coverage, photos and statistics.
