Football Friday, Presented by the West Virginia Lottery
November 18, 2022 02:32 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Rachel Libert, a creative/digital student volunteer for Mountaineer football, gets us prepped for Saturday afternoon's game against 19th-ranked Kansas State in today's Football Friday, presented by the West Virginia Lottery.
Here are some of the key game notes Rachel highlights in today's game preview:
* WVU is 6-9 in games played on Nov. 19, including 3-3 in games played at home. The first time that West Virginia played on Nov. 19, was in 1902 when the Mountaineers lost, 23-0, to Washington & Jefferson in Washington, Pennsylvania. The last time WVU played on Nov. 19 was in 2016 against Oklahoma (L 56-28)
* West Virginia is 96-14 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle
* The Mountaineers are No. 35 nationally in third-down conversions (.441) and No. 8 in fourth-down conversions (.731)
* WVU is No. 8 nationally in red zone offense (.929), No. 20 in first down offense (243) and No. 40 in fewest sacks allowed (1.60)
* West Virginia is ranked No. 30 nationally in time of possession and No. 3 in the Big 12 (31:52)
* The Mountaineers are ranked No. 18 nationally in punt return defense (3.17)
* WVU is ranked No. 20 nationally in net punting (40.97)
* WVU is No. 22 nationally in blocked punts (1) and No. 26 nationally in blocked kicks (2)
* According to PFF College, Bryce Ford-Wheaton is tied for No. 3 nationally among FBS receivers and tied for No. 2 among Power 5 players in contested catches (16)
* Ford-Wheaton is ranked No. 26 nationally and No. 2 in the Big 12 in receptions per game (5.8) and No. 28 in receiving touchdowns (7). He also is No. 4 in the Big 12 in total receiving yards (641)
* Ford-Wheaton is No. 12 in WVU history with 139 career catches. He also is tied for No. 15 in school history with 15 receiving touchdowns. He needs one to tie for No. 13 with Shawn Foreman (1995-98) and Rich Hollins (1980-83) and two to tie for No. 10 with Shelton Gibson (2013-16), Gary Jennings Jr. (2015-18) and Ka'Raun White (2015-17)
* Sam James is No. 5 in career receptions in WVU history with 185 catches. He needs seven more catches to pass David Saunders (1995-98) for fourth place. He is No. 8 in receiving yards (2,110). He has 12 receiving touchdowns, tying him for No. 22 with Steve Lewis (1974-78) and Rashaan Vanterpool (1993-96)
* In conference games, West Virginia is the only school to have three receivers ranked in the top 10 in receptions per game (No. 2 Ford-Wheaton - 6.00, No. 6 Kaden Prather - 5.14 and No. 10 Sam James - 4.57)
* Casey Legg is tied for No. 1 nationally in field goal percentage (100.0 - 13/13) and No. 35 in field goals per game (1.30)
* Dante Stills, WVU's career tackles for loss leader, now has 52.5. He added one more tackle for loss to his career record against Oklahoma. He also is the school's games played record holder (57)
* Stills added a sack vs. Oklahoma and now has 23.5 career sacks. He moved into No. 4 in school history and needs 2.5 more to tie his father, Gary Stills, for third place
* Jasir Cox is No. 14 nationally and tied for No. 1 in the Big 12 in fumbles recovered (2)
Saturday's game will kick off at 2 p.m. and will be televised on Big 12 Now (Mark Neely, Barrett Brooks and Tori Petry).
Mountaineer Sports Network coverage begins with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show at 11 a.m. on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular apps WVU Gameday and the Varsity Network. Regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning will get underway at 1 p.m.
Here are some of the key game notes Rachel highlights in today's game preview:
* WVU is 6-9 in games played on Nov. 19, including 3-3 in games played at home. The first time that West Virginia played on Nov. 19, was in 1902 when the Mountaineers lost, 23-0, to Washington & Jefferson in Washington, Pennsylvania. The last time WVU played on Nov. 19 was in 2016 against Oklahoma (L 56-28)
* West Virginia is 96-14 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle
* The Mountaineers are No. 35 nationally in third-down conversions (.441) and No. 8 in fourth-down conversions (.731)
* WVU is No. 8 nationally in red zone offense (.929), No. 20 in first down offense (243) and No. 40 in fewest sacks allowed (1.60)
* West Virginia is ranked No. 30 nationally in time of possession and No. 3 in the Big 12 (31:52)
* The Mountaineers are ranked No. 18 nationally in punt return defense (3.17)
* WVU is ranked No. 20 nationally in net punting (40.97)
* WVU is No. 22 nationally in blocked punts (1) and No. 26 nationally in blocked kicks (2)
* According to PFF College, Bryce Ford-Wheaton is tied for No. 3 nationally among FBS receivers and tied for No. 2 among Power 5 players in contested catches (16)
* Ford-Wheaton is ranked No. 26 nationally and No. 2 in the Big 12 in receptions per game (5.8) and No. 28 in receiving touchdowns (7). He also is No. 4 in the Big 12 in total receiving yards (641)
* Ford-Wheaton is No. 12 in WVU history with 139 career catches. He also is tied for No. 15 in school history with 15 receiving touchdowns. He needs one to tie for No. 13 with Shawn Foreman (1995-98) and Rich Hollins (1980-83) and two to tie for No. 10 with Shelton Gibson (2013-16), Gary Jennings Jr. (2015-18) and Ka'Raun White (2015-17)
* Sam James is No. 5 in career receptions in WVU history with 185 catches. He needs seven more catches to pass David Saunders (1995-98) for fourth place. He is No. 8 in receiving yards (2,110). He has 12 receiving touchdowns, tying him for No. 22 with Steve Lewis (1974-78) and Rashaan Vanterpool (1993-96)
* In conference games, West Virginia is the only school to have three receivers ranked in the top 10 in receptions per game (No. 2 Ford-Wheaton - 6.00, No. 6 Kaden Prather - 5.14 and No. 10 Sam James - 4.57)
* Casey Legg is tied for No. 1 nationally in field goal percentage (100.0 - 13/13) and No. 35 in field goals per game (1.30)
* Dante Stills, WVU's career tackles for loss leader, now has 52.5. He added one more tackle for loss to his career record against Oklahoma. He also is the school's games played record holder (57)
* Stills added a sack vs. Oklahoma and now has 23.5 career sacks. He moved into No. 4 in school history and needs 2.5 more to tie his father, Gary Stills, for third place
* Jasir Cox is No. 14 nationally and tied for No. 1 in the Big 12 in fumbles recovered (2)
Saturday's game will kick off at 2 p.m. and will be televised on Big 12 Now (Mark Neely, Barrett Brooks and Tori Petry).
Mountaineer Sports Network coverage begins with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show at 11 a.m. on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular apps WVU Gameday and the Varsity Network. Regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning will get underway at 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
K
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DL
/ FootballRich Rodriguez | Dec. 3
Wednesday, December 03
Reid Carrico | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
Jeff Weimer | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
Rich Rodriguez | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
