Countdown to Kickoff
September 18, 2009 06:49 PM | General
September 18, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia (2-0) takes on Auburn (2-0) at Jordan-Hare Stadium (87,451) in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009 at 7:45 pm. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 (Mark Jones and Bob Davie).
This is West Virginia’s first trip to Auburn and its second meeting against the Tigers. Last year the Mountaineers defeated Morgantown 34-17 in Morgantown. The Mountaineers are 22-17-2 all-time against schools from the Southeastern Conference.
Here is Saturday’s Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – Noel Devine is looking for his TENTH career 100-yard rushing performance. Last year against Auburn, Devine ran for a career-best 207 yards.
9 – West Virginia’s defense has allowed only NINE 100-yard rushers in its last 53 games.
8 – Quarterback Jarrett Brown ranks EIGHTH nationally in total offense averaging 359.5 yards per game.
7 – Auburn running back Ben Tate ranks SEVENTH nationally in rushing averaging 137 yards per game. Tate is 10th in Auburn history with 2,233 yards.
6 – The Mountaineers have played SIX games on natural grass surfaces under Bill Stewart. West Virginia is 3-3 in those games.
5 – West Virginia owns a FIVE-game winning streak against SEC schools heading into Saturday’s game at Auburn. The Mountaineers five victims include Ole Miss (2000), Georgia (2006), Mississippi State (2006 and 2007) and Auburn (2008).
4 – Noel Devine is FOURTH this week in rushing in the Big East averaging 96 yards per game with two rushing touchdowns.
3 – Brown had THREE pass plays of more than 40 yards last Saturday against East Carolina. Last year, the Mountaineer offense had only four pass plays covering more than 40 yards the entire year.
2 – West Virginia is one of seven teams (Auburn among the others) that have not allowed a sack through the first TWO games of the season.
1 – Saturday’s game will be the FIRST time since 2001 that the Mountaineers have played a road game before more than 80,000 spectators. The last time that happened was 2001 at Notre Dame.
Enjoy Saturday’s game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete post-game coverage. You can also follow live updates during the game on Twitter by keying in WVUSportsBuzz.
