Football Friday: Baylor

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia concludes its regular season on Saturday against Baylor at Milan Puskar Stadium.

It will be the final home game for the Mountaineers’ 21-player senior class.

“This is a fun week,” said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. “If you rank them, I think they’re all fun, Thanksgiving Week is special and you’re always going to remember it. You’re always anticipating the first game, that’s the most anticipated week of the year, but the one I probably like more than anything is the last one - Senior Day - especially if you’re in a situation where you can do some things that these seniors can be really proud of.”

West Virginia’s 21 seniors are:

* Justin Arndt, LB, Martinsburg, W.Va.

* Christian Brown, DL, Fort Myers, Fla.

* Antonio Crawford, CB, Tampa, Fla.

* Rasul Douglas, CB, East Orange, N.J.

* Maurice Fleming, CB, Chicago, Ill.

* Jarrod Harper, S, Frostburg, Md.

* Darrien Howard, DL, Dayton, Ohio

* Skyler Howard, QB, Fort Worth, Texas

* Nana Kyeremeh, CB, Worthington, Ohio

* Devonte Mathis, WR, Miami, Fla.

* Tony Matteo, OL, Clinton, Ohio

* Noble Nwachukwu, DL, Wylie, Texas

* Adam Pankey, OL, Hamilton, Ohio

* Tyler Orlosky, C, Cleveland, Ohio

* Khairi Sharif, S, Houston, Texas

* Rushel Shell III, RB, Hopewell, Pa.

* Daikiel Shorts Jr., WR, Clayton, N.J.

* Sylvester Townes, OL, Memphis, Tenn.

* Jeremy Tyler, S, Lithonia, Ga.

* Sean Walters, LB, Hollywood, Fla.

* Brendan Willis, OL, Centerville, Va.

What these guys have an opportunity to accomplish on Saturday only eight other teams in 125 years of football at WVU have managed to do - win at least 10 football games in a season.

Holgorsen’s first team did it in 2011, three of Rich Rodriguez’s teams did in in the mid-2000s, Don Nehlen had two teams accomplish it in 1988 and 1993, Jim Carlen’s team once in 1969 and Dr. Clarence Spears’ Mountaineer 11 back in 1922.

That’s it.

“If you’re playing in a game and you have a chance to do something like that is pretty special, that’s just an awesome way to close out the year,” said Holgorsen.

Baylor, despite a disappointing 6-5 record that includes a five-game losing streak heading into Saturday’s game will not be willing accomplices, however. The Bears are still a very dangerous team with many players still around from last year’s 62-38 victory over West Virginia in Waco, and the 73-42 dismantling Baylor put on the Mountaineers back in 2013.

Acting coach Jim Grobe, a Huntington native whom West Virginians know well from his days coaching at Wake Forest, will conclude his tenure after Saturday’s game to make way for another coach. The members of the staff he inherited from former coach Art Briles - including Briles’ son Kendal who coordinates the offense - will likely be looking for jobs.

How they approach this week and how they get their players prepared is one of the intriguing unknowns heading into Saturday’s game.

A 3:30 p.m. kickoff has been set for Saturday’s game, to be televised nationally on FS1 (Justin Kutcher and Petros Pakadakis).

The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG’s radio coverage begins at noon with the Go-Mart Mountaineer Tailgate Show on stations throughout West Virginia and online via leanStream and the mobile app TuneIn.

Here is Saturday’s Countdown to Kickoff:

10 - West Virginia is ranked TENTH in total offense this week averaging 514.6 yards per game.

9 - The Mountaineers won their NINTH game of the season last Saturday against Iowa State, making it the 18^th time that has happened in school history. A 10^th win on Saturday against Baylor would mark just the ninth time that has happened ever.

8 - West Virginia has had EIGHT scoring plays from scrimmage covering a distance of 34 yards or longer - all Skyler Howard passes.

7 - SEVEN different defensive linemen have seen game action so far this season.

6 - Junior running back Justin Crawford ranks SIXTH nationally with a 7.4 yards-per-carry rushing average.

5 - Senior Skyler Howard became just the FIFTH quarterback in school history to rush for more than 1,000 yards for his career last week at Iowa State. He now shows 1,016 yards on the ground to rank fifth all-time.

4 - FOUR different players have logged more than 2,000 plays for their careers: center Tyler Orlosky (3,312), offensive tackle Adam Pankey (2,793), wide receiver Daikiel Shorts Jr. (2,564) and safety Jarrod Harper (2,036).

3 - West Virginia has lost only THREE times in its last 17 games dating back to Texas Tech on November 7, 2015.

2 - The Mountaineers have won TWICE in Baylor’s prior trips to Milan Puskar Stadium, 70-63 in 2012 and 41-27 two years ago.

1 - Senior cornerback Rasul Douglas is tied for FIRST this week nationally with eight interceptions. He is two shy of Aaron Beasley’s school-record 10 interceptions made in 1994.

Enjoy Saturday’s game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete postgame coverage.

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