Countdown to Kickoff
October 30, 2009 02:28 PM | General
October 30, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia is facing USF tonight at Raymond James Stadium in an 8 p.m. Big East Conference match-up that is being televised nationally on ESPN2 (Joe Tessitura and Rod Gilmore).
Tonight’s game will be the fifth meeting between the two schools and for coaches Bill Stewart and Jim Leavitt. West Virginia and USF have split the previous four games with the Mountaineers winning at USF in 2005 and last year in Morgantown.
South Florida upset the Mountaineers, 24-19, in Morgantown in 2006 and knocked off West Virginia 21-13 in Tampa in 2007.
MSN’s radio coverage (Tony Cardio, Dwight Wallace, Jed Drenning and Hoppy Kercheval) begins at 7 p.m. with the Mountaineers Today. Satellite radio listeners can follow the MSN broadcast on Sirius channel 127.
Here is tonight’s Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – West Virginia turned the football over TEN times in its two losses to South Florida in 2006 and 2007. In West Virginia’s two victories against the Bulls in 2005 and 2008, the Mountaineers only turned the ball over three times.
9 – The Mountaineers are ranked NINTH in rushing defense heading into tonight’s game against USF, giving up an average of 86.3 yards per game on the ground.
8 – During last year’s West Virginia-USF game in Morgantown, the Mountaineer coverage units limited the Bulls to an average of just EIGHT yards per return on punts and kickoffs. Dontavia Bogan had a long kickoff return of 29 yards for the game.
7 – Junior slot receiver Jock Sanders needs two catches to move past Mark Raugh (1979-82) into SEVENTH place on West Virginia’s career receiving list. Sanders presently shows 118 career catches heading into tonight’s game.
6 – USF redshirt freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels has SIX plays of 40-plus yards so far this year.
5 – Noel Devine is now FIFTH in career rushing at West Virginia with 2,828 yards. The junior still has some work to do to pass Steve Slaton in fourth place with 3,923 yards.
4 – South Florida has had trouble finding a reliable kicker this year with the back injury to regular kicker Maikon Bonani. Backup kickers Delbert Alvarado and Eric Schwartz have combined to hit just FOUR of 11 field goal tries this year. However, Schwartz did hit a 50-yarder against Cincinnati earlier this year.
3 – USF defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has seven tackles for losses, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception in his last THREE games.
2 – USF’s defense has produced TWO more turnovers than West Virginia’s defense so far this year. The Bulls have nine interceptions and nine fumble recoveries, while the Mountaineers show 12 picks and four fumble recoveries.
1 – Quarterback Jarrett Brown has lost only ONCE as a starting quarterback. He brings an 8-1 record into tonight’s game as a starter.
Enjoy the game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete post-game coverage.
