Football
November 16, 2024 1:00 am

Johannes Antonik

Story of the tape
Points per game	33.6	29.0
Points against	26.8	27.9
Rushing yards per game	185.0	190.0
Rushing yards allowed per play	144.1	125.4
Passing yards per game	234.3	198.4
Passing yards allowed per play	229.7	263.0
Total yards per play	419.3	388.4
Total yards allowed per play	373.8	388.4
First downs for	190	194
First downs against	186	187
Clumsy/lost	9/5	12/3
Interceptions/Return Yards	7/105	4/101
Net punting	45.2	42.2
Field goal/attempts	10/14	10/11
Time of possession	26:06	30:53
3rd down conversions	48/120	48/117
3rd defense against down conversion	45/132	51/111
4th down conversions	15/26	17/26
4th defense against down conversion	15/21	11/17
Bags per meter lost	18/139	18/137

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Mountaineer Week at West Virginia University concludes today with a military appreciation game against Baylor at Milan Puskar Stadium.

The 4pm kickoff for ESPN2 television coverage means the match will start in daylight and end under the lights.


“We’ve played well the last few years in these Veterans Day games and Military Appreciation games,” the West Virginia coach said Neal Brown said, “and we have many of our players’ families and staff members who have served in the military or are currently active in the military, so this is a game that is very important to us.”


Brown currently calls Baylor “one of the hottest teams in the Big 12” based on its three-game surge that included wins over Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and TCU. In those games, the Bears averaged 44.7 points, including 59 in a 24-point win over the Red Raiders on October 19.


Baylor offensive coordinator Jake Spavital is a familiar name to Mountaineer fans, having run former coach Dana Holgorsen’s offenses here twice while also holding head coaching credentials at Texas State.


The 39-year-old has been coaching since he was 23 and returns to Morgantown for the first time since 2018.


Baylor’s offense found its footing when Spavital turned to junior quarterback Sawyer Robertson to lead the offense after Dequan Finn was injured in the Utah loss.


Robertson passed for 248 yards in Air Force’s win and has thrown for at least 222 yards in every game since the BYU loss. He threw for 274 yards and five touchdowns against Texas Tech and had three touchdown passes against Oklahoma State. The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder was also responsible for four touchdowns on the ground.


Bryson Washington, a 6-foot-2, 203-pound redshirt freshman, has emerged as the team’s leading ground gainer with 576 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s coming off a season-high 196 yards and four touchdowns in the TCU win two weeks ago.


Dawson Pendergrass, a 6-foot-1, 218-pound sophomore, and Richard Reese, a 6-foot-1, 181-pound junior, are listed as co-starters on Baylor’s depth chart.


The Bears have rushed for 255, 343 and 257 yards in their last three games and are now averaging 185 yards per game on the ground.


Sophomore Josh Cameron is a two-phase threat as the team’s leading receiver with 29 catches for 424 yards and seven touchdowns on offense, while also doubling as one of the nation’s leading punt returners with a 20.7 average, including a return of 73 yards against Texas Tech.


Baylor’s kick return game is once again formidable, with senior Jamaal Bell returning one hundred yards for a touchdown against Colorado and averaging 24.8 yards per return. Of course, the Mountaineers gave up two kickoff returns for touchdowns in last year’s 34-31 win over the Bears in Waco.


“Probably the scariest aspect of Baylor right now is their return units. Last year they hit two kickoff returns against us at Baylor, and both their punt returner and their kickoff returner are very dangerous,” Brown said.


Safeties coach Matt Powledge has the title of defensive coordinator, but head coach Dave Aranda is calling the shots again and the Bears have made progress across the board since last season.


Two weeks ago, Baylor limited TCU to 105 yards rushing, a week after the Bears held Oklahoma State to just 74 yards rushing on 34 attempts.


Middle linebacker Matt Jones is having an exceptional year with 82 tackles, 8½ tackles for loss, three sacks, five pass breakups, three quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.


Garmon Randolph, a 6-foot-1, 260-pounder, shows 3½ sacks, while his backup, Steve Linton, has three sacks from Baylor’s Jack position.


Nine different players have generated sacks and six different players have intercepted passes, led by the two backup strong safety Corey Gordon Jr. for 37 yards.


Most recently, Baylor (5-4, 3-3) defeated TCU 37-34 on Isaiah Hawkins’ 33-yard walk-off field goal with no time left on the clock. The Bears will be on the road for the first time since Oct. 19, when they defeated Texas Tech at Jones AT&T Stadium.


West Virginia (5-4, 4-2), meanwhile, got two defensive touchdowns and some great special teams play from the returner Preston Fox and gambler Oliver Straw to outlast Cincinnati 31-24. At one point the Mountaineers led 24-7 before the Bearcats rallied.



Anthony Wilson Jr 79-yard interception return and a 14-yard fumble return from Tyrin Bradley Jr. helped offset Cincinnati’s significant advantage in total yardage and possession, fueled by a 79-to-43 advantage in total plays.


It was West Virginia’s first game with Jeff Koonz supervise the defense. He was named interim defensive coordinator after West Virginia’s 31-26 win at Arizona.


West Virginia is 3-0 in conference road games but just 1-2 in Big 12 action at Milan Puskar Stadium. The Mountaineers rallied to defeat Kansas 32-28, losing 28-16 to Iowa State and 45-18 to Kansas State.


“We need to put a much better product on the field this Saturday than when we last played here against Kansas State,” Brown noted. “We are a much better football team and we have to show that.”


WVU also lost 34-12 at home to Penn State, which now ranks fourth in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 Poll.


WVU and Baylor are among twelve league teams still competing for the Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship Game, to be played on Saturday, December 3 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The conference enters Week 12 with seven teams already bowl eligible and three others with just one win, including WVU and Baylor.


The Big 12 also owns the second-highest Sagarin rankings in FBS, behind only the SEC.


Here’s today’s countdown to kickoff:


10 – West Virginia’s total of 40 penalties ranks TENTH among all FBS teams this week.


9 – West Virginia’s offense has scored NINE first-down touchdowns so far this season. The most touchdowns, 11, have occurred on second down.


8 –Tyrin Bradley Jr two fumble recoveries rank EIGHTH nationally this week.


7 – The Big 12 has SEVEN teams now eligible to play bowl and three are one win away, including both teams playing here this afternoon.


6 – The Mountaineers have won all SIX meetings against Baylor in Morgantown, including a 43-40 shootout in 2022.


5 – West Virginia ranks fifth nationally this week, averaging just 32.2 penalties per game.


4 – The Mountaineer defense has recorded at least FOUR tackles for loss in 27 of the last 30 games.


3 – Quarterback Nicco Marchiol scored his THIRD career rushing touchdown in last Saturday’s 31-24 win at Cincinnati.


2 – The Big 12 enters Week 12 with the SECOND highest Sagarin rankings on FBS behind the SEC.


1 – According to PFF College, left tackle Wyatt Milum ranks FIRST in the nation among all tackles with a 91.5% rating. In 214 plays this season, he hasn’t allowed a single pressure, sack or quarterback hit.


Mike Monaco, Kirk Morrison and Dawn Davenport will handle the call on ESPN2 for today’s game, while Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning will oversee Mountaineer Sports Network’s radio coverage on West Virginia stations online at WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.


Radio coverage begins with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show at 1 p.m.


WVU concludes the home portion of its schedule this Saturday, November 23 against UCF. The regular season concludes on Saturday, November 30 at Texas Tech.