Countdown to Kickoff - Youngstown State
September 08, 2018 12:00 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia begins the home portion of its football schedule early this evening when the 14th-ranked Mountaineers take on the Youngstown State Penguins of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Today's game will be Youngstown State's third appearance in Morgantown, and second with veteran coach Bo Pelini working the sidelines. In 2016, Youngstown State was leading West Virginia, 14-7, in the second quarter before the Mountaineers erupted for 24 straight points en route to a 38-21 victory.
Youngstown State reached the FCS national championship game that season where it lost to James Madison.
West Virginia (1-0) is coming off an impressive, 40-14 win over Tennessee in its season opener at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Senior Heisman Trophy contender Will Grier passed for 429 yards and five touchdowns, four of his five TD tosses going to different players.
All-America candidates David Sills V and Gary Jennings Jr. also had outstanding afternoons, combining to catch 13 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Eleven different players were on the receiving end of Grier aerials last weekend.
The Mountaineer defense also performed well, limiting the Volunteers to just 301 yards of offense and 14 points. Tony Gibson's crew also was credited with 12 tackles for losses last Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Youngstown State (0-1) is coming off a disappointing, 23-21 loss to Butler in its season-opener last weekend at Stambaugh Stadium. The Penguins had a 21-7 lead after three quarters before disintegrating in the final stanza.
Youngstown State's last foray against a Power 5 conference team last year at Pitt resulted in a 28-21 overtime loss. The Penguins' last win against a Power 5 team occurred in 2012 when they knocked off the Panthers, 31-17, in Pittsburgh.
"I'm excited about this game," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. "I'm looking forward to getting back out there because we've got a whole bunch of things that we can work on from the game last weekend. You just have to keep improving, getting out there and improving each and every week and this week is no different."
Prior to today's game, members of the 1988 Fiesta Bowl team will recognized as part of its 30thanniversary celebration. Team captains Bo Orlando, John Stroia and Kevin Koken, as well as quarterback Major Harris, will take part in the ceremonial coin toss to begin the game.
"We're celebrating the '88 team, and that brought back some memories thinking about that," Holgorsen said. "I've met a lot of those guys over the course of the last eight years. That's when I graduated high school, so I guess my 30threunion is coming up and that in itself is disturbing to me.
"I remember wearing a West Virginia sweatshirt my senior year in high school, and it was because of that '88 team," Holgorsen continued. "They were undefeated and obviously Major Harris, Coach Nehlen and all those guys, I admired from afar. Here we are 30 years later with me behind this podium, and we're celebrating the '88 team this weekend as well.
"It should be another great weekend. Last weekend was a great weekend to be a Mountaineer and a Mountaineer fan, and I expect nothing different this weekend," Holgorsen concluded.
AT&T SportsNet (Rob King, Rasheed Marshall and Meg Bulger) will televise the game locally. Online users outside of the Pittsburgh/West Virginia television footprint will also be able to watch a free live stream of the game on their computers, mobile devices and their Apple TV and Roku smart televisions via SideArm.
The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG's game coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show (Dan Zangrilli, Dale Wolfley and Jed Drenning) leading into the regular game coverage with Tony Caridi and Dwight Wallace on affiliates throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular mobile app TuneIn.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
Here is tonight's Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – Quarterback Will Grier has now passed for more than 300 yards in a game in TEN of his 12 starts as a WVU quarterback. Last weekend, Grier passed for 429 yards and five touchdowns against Tennessee.
9 – NINE of Grier's 10 longest passes at WVU covering at least 55 yards have gone for touchdowns. The only non-scoring pass was a 63-yarder to Ka'Raun White during last year's game against Iowa State.
8 – EIGHT Mountaineer players earned their first WVU start last Saturday against Tennessee. They were: Charlie Benton (LB), Kenny Bigelow Jr. (DT), Joe Brown (RG), Josh Norwood (CB), Martell Pettaway (RB), Jabril Robinson (DE), Marcus Simms (WR) and Trevon Wesco (TE).
7 – West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen has won all SEVEN meetings against FCS competition while coaching at West Virginia, including a 38-21 victory over Youngstown State in 2016.
6 – The defense against Tennessee last Saturday forced punts on five of the Volunteers' first SIX possessions.
5 – The offense last week had FIVE plays of 30 yards or longer, including T.J. Simmons' 59-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter.
4 – Will Grier's five touchdown passes against Tennessee was the FOURTH time he's done that in his Mountaineer career, the most ever for any WVU quarterback.
3 – Youngstown State will be making its THIRD trip to Morgantown. The other two appearances occurred in 2016 and 1938.
2 – The Mountaineer defense held Tennessee scoreless for TWO quarters and limited the Volunteers to just 14 points and 301 total yards in last Saturday's win.
1 – West Virginia had 16 FIRST-time players in the Tennessee game: Charlie Benton, Kenny Bigelow Jr., Joe Brown, Leddie Brown, Jacob Buccigrossi, Shea Campbell, Josh Chandler, Jovani Haskins, Luke Hogan, Exree Loe, Josh Norwood, Jabril Robinson, T.J. Simmons, Alec Sinkfield, Dante Stills and Keith Washington.
Enjoy the game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete postgame coverage.
Today's game will be Youngstown State's third appearance in Morgantown, and second with veteran coach Bo Pelini working the sidelines. In 2016, Youngstown State was leading West Virginia, 14-7, in the second quarter before the Mountaineers erupted for 24 straight points en route to a 38-21 victory.
Youngstown State reached the FCS national championship game that season where it lost to James Madison.
West Virginia (1-0) is coming off an impressive, 40-14 win over Tennessee in its season opener at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Senior Heisman Trophy contender Will Grier passed for 429 yards and five touchdowns, four of his five TD tosses going to different players.
All-America candidates David Sills V and Gary Jennings Jr. also had outstanding afternoons, combining to catch 13 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Eleven different players were on the receiving end of Grier aerials last weekend.
The Mountaineer defense also performed well, limiting the Volunteers to just 301 yards of offense and 14 points. Tony Gibson's crew also was credited with 12 tackles for losses last Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Youngstown State (0-1) is coming off a disappointing, 23-21 loss to Butler in its season-opener last weekend at Stambaugh Stadium. The Penguins had a 21-7 lead after three quarters before disintegrating in the final stanza.
Youngstown State's last foray against a Power 5 conference team last year at Pitt resulted in a 28-21 overtime loss. The Penguins' last win against a Power 5 team occurred in 2012 when they knocked off the Panthers, 31-17, in Pittsburgh.
"I'm excited about this game," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. "I'm looking forward to getting back out there because we've got a whole bunch of things that we can work on from the game last weekend. You just have to keep improving, getting out there and improving each and every week and this week is no different."
Prior to today's game, members of the 1988 Fiesta Bowl team will recognized as part of its 30thanniversary celebration. Team captains Bo Orlando, John Stroia and Kevin Koken, as well as quarterback Major Harris, will take part in the ceremonial coin toss to begin the game.
"We're celebrating the '88 team, and that brought back some memories thinking about that," Holgorsen said. "I've met a lot of those guys over the course of the last eight years. That's when I graduated high school, so I guess my 30threunion is coming up and that in itself is disturbing to me.
"I remember wearing a West Virginia sweatshirt my senior year in high school, and it was because of that '88 team," Holgorsen continued. "They were undefeated and obviously Major Harris, Coach Nehlen and all those guys, I admired from afar. Here we are 30 years later with me behind this podium, and we're celebrating the '88 team this weekend as well.
"It should be another great weekend. Last weekend was a great weekend to be a Mountaineer and a Mountaineer fan, and I expect nothing different this weekend," Holgorsen concluded.
AT&T SportsNet (Rob King, Rasheed Marshall and Meg Bulger) will televise the game locally. Online users outside of the Pittsburgh/West Virginia television footprint will also be able to watch a free live stream of the game on their computers, mobile devices and their Apple TV and Roku smart televisions via SideArm.
The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG's game coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show (Dan Zangrilli, Dale Wolfley and Jed Drenning) leading into the regular game coverage with Tony Caridi and Dwight Wallace on affiliates throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular mobile app TuneIn.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
Here is tonight's Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – Quarterback Will Grier has now passed for more than 300 yards in a game in TEN of his 12 starts as a WVU quarterback. Last weekend, Grier passed for 429 yards and five touchdowns against Tennessee.
9 – NINE of Grier's 10 longest passes at WVU covering at least 55 yards have gone for touchdowns. The only non-scoring pass was a 63-yarder to Ka'Raun White during last year's game against Iowa State.
8 – EIGHT Mountaineer players earned their first WVU start last Saturday against Tennessee. They were: Charlie Benton (LB), Kenny Bigelow Jr. (DT), Joe Brown (RG), Josh Norwood (CB), Martell Pettaway (RB), Jabril Robinson (DE), Marcus Simms (WR) and Trevon Wesco (TE).
7 – West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen has won all SEVEN meetings against FCS competition while coaching at West Virginia, including a 38-21 victory over Youngstown State in 2016.
6 – The defense against Tennessee last Saturday forced punts on five of the Volunteers' first SIX possessions.
5 – The offense last week had FIVE plays of 30 yards or longer, including T.J. Simmons' 59-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter.
4 – Will Grier's five touchdown passes against Tennessee was the FOURTH time he's done that in his Mountaineer career, the most ever for any WVU quarterback.
3 – Youngstown State will be making its THIRD trip to Morgantown. The other two appearances occurred in 2016 and 1938.
2 – The Mountaineer defense held Tennessee scoreless for TWO quarters and limited the Volunteers to just 14 points and 301 total yards in last Saturday's win.
1 – West Virginia had 16 FIRST-time players in the Tennessee game: Charlie Benton, Kenny Bigelow Jr., Joe Brown, Leddie Brown, Jacob Buccigrossi, Shea Campbell, Josh Chandler, Jovani Haskins, Luke Hogan, Exree Loe, Josh Norwood, Jabril Robinson, T.J. Simmons, Alec Sinkfield, Dante Stills and Keith Washington.
Enjoy the game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete postgame coverage.
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