MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia takes another crack at getting its first victory of the season today at Milan Puskar Stadium when it faces FCS opponent Towson in a nonconference game that will kick off at 1 p.m.
 
The Mountaineers' losses to Pitt and Kansas have come in down-to-the-wire fashion, the Panthers rallying with two unanswered fourth-quarter touchdowns and Kansas tallying two scores in overtime last Saturday in Morgantown.
 
It's West Virginia's first 0-2 start to a season since 1979, a year before Hall of Fame coach Don Nehlen took over the WVU program.
 
Meanwhile, Towson is 2-0 with early season wins over Morgan State and Bucknell. Quarterback Tyrell Pigrome passed for 157 yards and three touchdowns in the Tigers' 29-21 victory over Morgan State, while running back Devin Matthews ran for 112 yards and a pair of scores in Towson's 14-13 overtime win at Bucknell.
 
Pigrome, of Birmingham, Alabama, is playing his seventh year of college football after prior stops at Maryland, Western Kentucky and Ole Miss.
 
"Their quarterback, I know him well," West Virginia coach Neal Brown said. "He went to Clay-Chalkville and played with (former Mountaineer wide receiver) T.J. Simmons in high school. They won a state championship there. He's been at three FBS programs, he's a dual-threat guy and a good football player."
 
Brown said Towson has more than 50 new players on its roster this year, including a number of FBS transfers on both sides of the ball.
 
"They've got quality skill guys," he said. "Their running backs and receivers include several I-A transfers and several guys we know through the recruiting process."
 
Defensively, Brown said the Tiger defense revolves around its front that includes South Carolina transfer Jesus Gibbs at defensive end and 5-foot-11, 305-pound senior nose tackle Vinnie Shaffer.
 
"That's where their strength is," he said. "They've got a draft pick, probably, in Gibbs. He's big and a South Carolina transfer. They've got a nose that's smaller in stature from a height standpoint, but man, he plays the game the right way. He's given everybody issues."
 
Towson is coached by Rob Ambrose, who led the Tigers to the FCS national championship game in 2013. He's won 72 games in 13 seasons there.
 
"They're well coached, and they're a quality FCS program," Brown noted. "If you go back and look at what they've done, coach Ambrose has done a nice job building that program. He played there. He was an assistant there at some point, and he's been the head coach for double-digit years.
 
"But to be honest, the focus is really on us this week, and I mean that with all due respect for Towson because I've got a lot of respect for them," Brown added.
 
Here is this afternoon's Countdown to Kickoff:
 
10 – The West Virginia offense has been successful TEN times so far in the red zone, going 10 of 11 for a 91% success rate. That's 46^th best in the country this week.
 
9 – The WVU offense has passed for more than 300 yards NINE times during the Neal Brown era, including last Saturday's 355-yard performance against Kansas.
 
8 – West Virginia quarterback JT Daniels ranks EIGHTH in the country this week with an average of 25.5 completions per game.
 
7 – The Mountaineer offense scored points on SEVEN of their 10 offensive possessions against Kansas last Saturday.
 
6 – WVU has produced SIX 1,000-yard rushers since joining the Big 12 in 2012, including five times in the last seven years.
 
5 – The West Virginia defense generated FIVE sacks in the season opener against Pitt, the most in a game since having six against Virginia Tech the year prior. WVU did not register a sack during last weekend's loss to Kansas.
 
4 – FOUR members of West Virginia's offensive line have recorded at least 20 starts during their collegiate careers: Doug Nester (32), James Gmiter (27), Zach Frazier (24) and Brandon Yates (21).
 
3 – The Mountaineers have successfully converted THREE of their four fourth-down opportunities so far this season.
 
2 – Wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton ranks SECOND in the country in receptions per game (10.0). His 20 receptions through the first two games of the season are the most since Stedman Bailey (22) and Tavon Austin (21) did it in 2012.
 
1 – West Virginia and Towson have met ONE prior time in 2014, a 54-0 Mountaineer victory in Morgantown.
 
Today's contest will be available to watch on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (Noah Reed and Adam Breneman).
 
Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield radio coverage begins at 10 a.m. with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show leading into regular network coverage at noon with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning. The broadcast can be heard on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network app.
 
"It's up to us in the program right now to draw near and get better," Brown said. "There is plenty of ownership to go around, and I don't think anybody is going to be harder on themselves than the staff and the players that are sitting here 0-2."

Prior to today's game, West Virginia will officially induct its 32^nd Hall of Fame class consisting of eight outstanding former athletes and one coach. 
 
The 2022 class includes football standouts Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey and Geno Smith from the 2012 Discover Orange Bowl champion team, women's basketball player Donna Abbott, rifle national champion coach Marsha Beasley and pioneering shooter Marilee Hohmann, track and cross country All-American Marie-Louise Asselin and men's basketball All-American Kevin Jones.
 
The induction ceremony will take place inside the Caperton Indoor Practice Facility and the public is invited to attend. The event is free of charge.
 
Because of the hall of fame ceremony Saturday, there will be no Kids Zone inside the practice facility beforehand.