Countdown to Kickoff
December 01, 2006 11:05 AM | General
December 1, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia (9-2, 4-2) plays host to Rutgers (10-1, 5-1) on Saturday night in Morgantown with BCS bowl implications on the line for the Scarlet Knights. A Rutgers victory over the Mountaineers would give it a share of the conference championship and the league’s BCS bid by owning the tiebreaker over Louisville.
West Virginia’s bowl possibilities still include the Gator, Sun and Houston bowls. The game will be televised by ESPN (Mark Jones, David Norrie and Stacey Dales).
Kick off is set for 7:45.
Here is the West Virginia-Rutgers Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – West Virginia ranks TENTH in the nation in passing efficiency with a 157.56 rating.
9 – The Mountaineers have had NINE touchdown runs of 45 yards or longer this year. Running back Steve Slaton has five of those and quarterback Patrick White has the other four.
8 – This season represents the 30th time in school history West Virginia has won at least EIGHT football games in a season. Twenty times the Mountaineers have gone to bowl games when winning at least eight victories with another bowl invitation expected this year.
7 – West Virginia has scored 40 points or more in SEVEN of 11 games so far this year. The highest scoring output was 52 points against Eastern Washington on Sept. 9.
6 – Steve Slaton and Patrick White have combined for SIX 200-yard rushing games in their two-year careers. They became just the third duo in NCAA history to run for more than 200 yards in the same game when they did it at Pitt on Nov. 16.
5 – Patrick White ranks FIFTH in career rushing touchdowns at West Virginia with 24. Steve Slaton is fourth with 31.
4 – Patrick White has run for FOUR touchdowns twice this season against Syracuse and Louisville.
3 – West Virginia has won 28 games during the last THREE years (28-6) – the best three-year mark in school history.
2 – Steve Slaton ranks SECOND nationally in rushing averaging 147.4 yards per game. As a team, the Mountaineers also rank SECOND nationally in rushing.
1 – Rutgers is looking for its FIRST-ever win against West Virginia in Morgantown. All four Rutgers wins in the series have come in New Jersey.
Enjoy Saturday’s game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete post-game coverage.
