Sep 5, 2007, 16:16 GMT
Huntington, WV - The mighty West Virginia Mountaineers, ranked third nationally, will take on in-state foe Marshall on Saturday in a non-conference affair.
As expected, West Virginia rolled to victory in its opener, besting Western Michigan by a 62-24 final. The Mountaineers have won 23 of their last 26 games overall, and coach Rich Rodriguez has built the program into a true national powerhouse. West Virginia's preseason ranking of three is its highest in school history, and the club will attempt to lengthen its current eight-game non-conference winning streak.
Marshall is certainly eager to get back on the field after an embarrassing showing against Miami on the road. The Hurricanes crushed the Thundering Herd by a 31-3 final in a game that was never close. A one-time powerhouse in the MAC, Marshall now resides in Conference USA and hopes to improve on its 5-7 record of 2006.
West Virginia has won all six previous meetings with Marshall.
Put simply, there is not a better quarterback/tailback combination in all of college football than the one that is found in Morgantown. Patrick White lines up under center and calls the shots, and Steve Slaton is just a few steps behind him. It is because of those two players that the Mountaineers are the most feared running team in the nation. Slaton is a blazing fast tailback who racked up 1,744 yards and 16 touchdowns on 248 rushing attempts as a sophomore. White returns for his junior season as well after being named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore. He threw for 1,655 yards and 13 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,219 yards and 18 touchdowns. In the opener against Western Michigan, Slaton ran for 109 yards and three touchdowns, while White threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more. With 316 rushing yards as a team, WVU once again controlled the entire game on the ground.
West Virginia played fairly well defensively against Western Michigan in the opener. Still, there is some room for improvement considering that the Broncos scored three offensive touchdowns in the clash. The Mountaineers were brilliant against the run, limiting their foe to 32 yards on 32 attempts. Although they did yield 245 passing yards, a pair of interceptions certainly helped the cause. Tackle Keilen Dykes, who is in his fourth season as a starter, received First Team All-Big East honors as a junior after recording 19.5 TFLs. Dykes was rather quiet in the opener, so expect him to play with some added aggression against Marshall.
Last season, Marshall had an outstanding tailback in Ahmad Bradshaw. Unfortunately, Bradshaw took his 1,523 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns to the NFL, and his presence was sorely missed in the opening loss to Miami-Florida. Put simply, Marshall could not generate any offense in that clash. The Herd finished the contest with 51 net rushing yards on 32 attempts, and the fact that Miami totaled six sacks certainly affected that rushing total. As for the passing game, Bernard Almond connected on only 16-of-26 passes for 162 yards and three interceptions for Marshall. Brian Anderson did not shine in his limited time under center either, as he connected on 3-of-8 passes for 21 yards and an interception. Clearly, the quarterback play was a far cry from the days when Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich were playing for Marshall. Also, there is no Randy Moss in the receiving corps, a fact that is painfully evident.
Marshall only allowed 81 passing yards to Miami last Saturday, limiting the 'Canes to just nine completions. Unfortunately, the Herd struggled mightily against the run, as the club permitted Miami to rack up 260 yards on the ground on only 40 attempts. The Miami offense was on the field for fewer than 26 minutes, and of the three touchdowns that the unit scored, one drive started from Marshall's one-yard line and the other began at the 24-yard line of the Herd. Therefore, with all factors considered, the defense has to be given credit for a strong effort on the road. The offense put the team's defense in bad situations all day, and the final score could have been a whole lot uglier.
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