West Virginia vs. Texas: Game Preview With TV Schedule
By Connor Muldowney
@Connormuldowney
Getty Images
Not many people looked at the West Virginia Mountaineers as a serious threat to win a conference title in 2014. However, if enough happens in their favor with teams ahead of them, the conference title could still be theirs. On the other hand, the Texas Longhorns are just trying to play spoiler this season and attempt to make their first bowl game under head coach Charlie Strong.
West Virginia’s success this season can be attributed to the strong passing attack led by senior Clint Trickett. The Tallahassee-native has led the 11th-best pass offense in the nation with 2,925 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 68 percent of his passes. He and Kevin White have developed a nearly unbreakable chemistry as the two have connected 75 times for 1,075 yards and eight touchdowns. The next closest receiver, Mario Alford, has 48 catches for 679 yards and seven touchdowns. Jordan Thompson is the only other receiver on the team with multiple touchdown catches — he has two. Wendell Smallwood recently overtook the top spot on the team in rushing yards with 540 and one score while the previous owner of the top spot, Rushel Shell, has 538 yards and a team-high six rushing scores.
Sophomore quarterback and first-year starter Tyrone Swoopes has been gaining confidence week by week, leading to 1,723 passing yards and nine touchdowns this season. Swooped could use some work on his accuracy, however, as he has thrown five interceptions and is completing just under 60 percent of his passes. The young quarterback has also rushed for 237 yards and three more scores on the ground. Senior receiver John Harris has been Swoopes’ favorite target, catching 48 passes for 814 yards and six touchdowns while Jaxon Shipley has been extremely reliable, catching 51 passes for 500 yards and a touchdown. Senior running back Malcolm Brown leads the average run game with 533 yards and six touchdowns while Johnathan Gray is right behind with 445 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively, the Longhorns are just 1-5 this season when allowing 20 points or more. Texas ranks 45th nationally in points allowed per game as well as 37th in total yards allowed per game. The defense has kept this team in many games this year. West Virginia hasn’t been quite as impressive, ranking just 61st in points allowed and 64th in total yards allowed, giving up an elevated 389 yards every week.
West Virginia will travel to Texas to take on the Longhorns at 3:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, Nov. 8. The game will be broadcasted on FOX Sports 1.
PREDICTION: West Virginia 35, Texas 24
Want to see the Mountaineers take on the Longhorns in week 11? Check out ScoreBig for tickets.
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at [email protected].
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