Countdown to Kickoff
October 26, 2007 10:26 PM | General
October 26, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia faces Rutgers Saturday afternoon in a Noon Big East game that will be televised by ABC (Brad Nessler, Bob Griese, Paul Maguire and Bonnie Bernstein) to 82 percent of the country.
The only region that will not see the game is the Big 12 region, which will get the Colorado-Texas Tech game. West Virginia (6-1, 1-1) is looking to knock off a ranked team on the road for the first time since 2002 when the Mountaineers take on the No. 25-rated Scarlet Knights.
Here is Saturday’s Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – Steve Slaton ran for his team-best TENTH touchdown last Saturday against Mississippi State. That TD run established a school record with 43 career touchdown runs, passing Ira Errett Rodgers and Avon Cobourne.
9 – Quarterback Patrick White threw a pair of touchdown passes last Saturday against Mississippi State and now shows NINE touchdown passes for the season. White has accounted for 17 total touchdowns so far this season.
8 – West Virginia quarterbacks are tied for EIGHTH nationally with the fewest passes intercepted this year with four. Rutgers quarterbacks are also careful with the football, being picked off just six times to rank 28th nationally.
7 – The Mountaineers are ranked SEVENTH in the latest BCS standings released last Sunday, gaining two spots from the season’s first ranking two weeks ago.
6 – West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez has won all SIX times he has faced Rutgers dating back to 2001. Last year the Mountaineers pulled out a 41-39 triple-overtime victory in Morgantown.
5 – West Virginia is making its FIFTH trip away from home this season at Rutgers on Saturday. The Mountaineers are 3-1 in road games this year, having defeated Marshall, Maryland and Syracuse and losing at South Florida.
4 – West Virginia has lost just FOUR times to Rutgers in 34 all-time meetings that include two ties. All four West Virginia losses have occurred in New Jersey.
3 – Tailback Steve Slaton is ranked THIRD in the conference in rushing averaging 107.4 yards per game. Slaton is going up against the league’s top rusher in Rutgers junior Ray Rice, who is averaging 142.7 yards per game.
2 – Rutgers knocked off SECOND-ranked South Florida last Thursday night in Piscataway, 30-27. That victory represents the highest ranked opponent Rutgers has ever defeated and Saturday’s game marks the first time in school history the Scarlet Knights will play host to Top 10-ranked teams in back-to-back games.
1 – Rutgers kicker Jeremy Ito is now ranked FIRST in career field goal made in Big East Conference history, connecting on three against South Florida to give him 69 for his career.
Enjoy the game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete post-game coverage.
