It's game day in Morgantown once again, as WVU football welcomes the Utah Utes to town for their first-ever trip to Milan Puskar Stadium. The game is set to kickoff at 3:30 PM EST on Saturday, just a few hours away from this being published. So let's take one last look ahead at the Utah Utes and the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Final Odds
Vegas odds makers seem to have settled on Utah as a 12.5-point favorite entering the game, and the over/under for points total is set at 47.5 currently.
Injuries
In addition to wideout Jaden Bray and running back Jahiem White being done for the season, the Mountaineers will be missing quarterback Nicco Marchiol, who was announced as out for the week on Thursday night after previously being listed as questionable. Running back Cyncir Bowers is now also officially out for the game as of Friday night, as well as safety Julien Horton and offensive lineman Cooper Young.
Running back Tye Edwards is still listed as questionable after missing last week's game, and so is center Landen Livingston, who left last week's game with an ankle injury. Tight end Jacob Barrick was injured in The Backyard Brawl and has been out since, and is listed as probably. Wide receiver Preston Fox, who missed last week's game, will be back in action. So will running back Kannon Katzer, who has missed the first four games with an injury.
Keys To Victory
1. Establish physicality in the trenches and on the ground. The Mountaineers were at their best offensively against Pitt, where the offensive line – while far from looking great – was able to wear down the Panthers' defense and win short yardage situations. Rich Rodriguez said that the offensive line is not missing "as many assignments as you'd think" previously (though that's debatable), but needs to be more physical.
Pitt also was the game with the best rushing performance of the season for WVU, as Tye Edwards bounced off defenders and broke tackles all day for in a performance that saw him earn 141 yards and three touchdowns. If he can play, they'll need more of the same from him. If he doesn't, some combo of Clay Ash, Tyler Jacklich, Diore Hubbard, and the returning Katzer (a 1,000-yard rusher last season) will have to find that spark. It might also help that WVU will be starting previous backup quarterback Jaylen Henderson, who has proven a bit more mobile than Marchiol was before getting injured.
2. Contain the mobile quarterback and punch in a beatable offense in the mouth. The WVU defense has seemed the more talented and more aggressive unit this season. Utah has a mobile quarterback in a system he's comfortable with, and that's something that WVU has struggled to handle multiple times on the early season. The Mountaineers must figure out how to contain Devon Dampier. Luckily, Texas Tech left a blueprint for that last week, and showed that Utah's offense can be locked down. To maximize the chances of doing that, WVU needs to come out as aggressive as they have all season and show the Utes that they mean business.