Countdown to Kickoff
October 09, 2009 05:42 PM | General
October 9, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia visits Syracuse in a Big East Conference game on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. The game will be televised on the Big East Network (Mike Gleason, John Congemi and Quint Kessenich).
Saturday’s game will be the 57th meeting between the two schools and the first between the two coaches – Bill Stewart and Doug Marrone. The Mountaineers have won seven straight including the last three at Syracuse – 55-14 in 2007, 15-7 in 2005 and 34-23 in 2003.
At halftime of Saturday’s game, the Carrier Dome will be renamed Ernie Davis Legends Field in honor of the late Syracuse great.
Here is Saturday’s Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – Syracuse has the TENTH most seniors in the country with 23 on this year’s roster. Six of them are fifth-year seniors.
9 – The Mountaineers have won NINE times when running back Noel Devine runs for more than 100 yards in a game. Last Thursday, Devine had a career-high 220 yards in a 35-24 victory over Colorado.
8 – West Virginia ranks EIGHTH (last) in the Big East in turnover margin, fourth down conversions, turnovers gained and fumbles gained.
7 – West Virginia quarterback Jarrett Brown will be making his SEVENTH career start on Saturday against Syracuse. Brown is 5-1 as a starting quarterback for the Mountaineers.
6 – Noel Devine has SIX career runs of 65 yards or longer including a career-long 92-yard touchdown run in last year’s 17-6 victory over Syracuse in Morgantown.
5 – Syracuse wide receiver Mike Williams ranks FIFTH in the country with an average of 124.6 yards per game receiving. Williams’ 19 career touchdowns are 16th among active players in the FBS division.
4 – WVU has FOUR scoring drives lasting 10 plays or longer including a pair of 14-play scoring drives against Auburn and Colorado.
3 – THREE of Syracuse’s offensive linemen – Jim McKenzie, Tucker Baumbach and Ryan Bartholomew have a combined 62 career starts among them.
2 – Only TWO coaches – Ira Errett Rodgers and Bobby Bowden – have better records through their first 18 games at WVU than Bill Stewart’s 13-5 mark. Rodgers and Bowden were both 14-4 through their first 18 games.
1 – The Mountaineer defense is looking for its FIRST fumble recovery of the season. The Mountaineers are the only team in the FBS division that have not recovered at least one fumble.
Enjoy Saturday’s game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete postgame coverage.
