GAMEDAY CENTRAL
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia lifts the lid on the 2015 football season tonight when the Mountaineers play host to Georgia Southern.
It’s the Eagles first trip to Morgantown and the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
West Virginia is coming off a 7-6 season in 2014 that saw the Mountaineers lose 45-37 to Texas A&M in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. This will be coach Dana Holgorsen’s fifth season guiding the WVU program.
Georgia Southern made the successful jump to FBS status last year by going 8-0 in the Sun Belt Conference and finishing the season with a 9-3 record under veteran coach Willie Fritz.
Included Georgia Southern’s three losses were close defeats at NC State (one point) and at Georgia Tech (four points).
The Eagles have held their own against Power 5 opponents in the past, including registering a memorable 26-20 victory over Florida in 2013.
Georgia Southern’s other foray against the Power 5 will come on November 21 when the Eagles travel to Athens, Georgia to face the Bulldogs.
Tonight’s game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and the contest will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net (Mark Followill, Brian Baldinger and Lesley McCaslin).
The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG’s coverage begins with the Mountaineer Tailgate at 4 p.m. leading into game coverage provided by veteran play-by-play man Tony Caridi, beginning his 20th season calling Mountaineer football action.
Dwight Wallace is back for another season in the booth to provide analysis while Jed Drenning will roam the sidelines providing insight and commentary.
Here is tonight’s Countdown to Kickoff, brought to you by the Friends of Coal:
10 – There are TEN Pennsylvania residents on this year’s roster. Florida leads the way with 23 players, followed by West Virginia (20) and Ohio (18).
9 – West Virginia’s defense ranked NINTH in the country last year in third down defense, allowing its opponents a 31.4 percent success rate.
8 – Returning place kicker Josh Lambert ranked EIGHTH in the country in scoring last year with an average of 10.4 points per game. He led the country with an average of 2.31 field goals made per game.
7 – West Virginia’s most successful uniform combination since 2001? That would be gold jerseys and blue pants. The Mountaineers have won SEVEN times while losing just once wearing that uniform combination.
6 – SIX of West Virginia’s top seven passing performances in school history have happened under Dana Holgorsen’s watch, including Geno Smith’s school-record 656 yards passing in a 70-63 victory over Baylor on September 29, 2012.
5 – The Mountaineers have FIVE redshirt (fifth-year players) playing on offense this year. They are tight end Cody Clay, wide receiver KJ Myers, center Stone Underwood, offensive tackle Marquis Lucas and tight end Darren Arndt.
4 – West Virginia has dropped only FOUR home openers at Milan Puskar Stadium since 1980. Dana Holgorsen has won all four home openers as WVU’s head coach.
3 – Georgia Southern is one of THREE non-conference opponents West Virginia is facing this year. WVU plays FCS playoff quarterfinalist Liberty on Saturday, September 12, and will play regular border rival Maryland on Saturday, September 26.
2 – The TWO defensive aides assigned to the press box for games this year are former defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell and assistant defensive line coach Damon Cogdell. Offensive graduate assistants Michael Burchett and Zac Hueter will be Coach Dana Holgorsen’s main eyes up in the booth this year.
1 – Fifty players have played at least ONE Big 12 game heading into this season, easily Dana Holgorsen’s most experience team since taking over the head coaching reins in 2011.
Enjoy tonight’s game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete postgame coverage.
