GAME PREVIEW: West Virginia to host BYU for the first time since 2016

By Zippy Zimmerman, RealWV

The Mountaineers prepare to face a BYU team that’s without its starting quarterback Kedon Slovis. Slovis, last year’s Pitt Panther quarterback, has passed for 1,716 yards for the Cougars. In his absence, the Cougars will look to start Jake Retzlaff. Retzlaff’s abilities on the field will be a big unknown for West Virginia’s defense, as he has yet to throw a single pass for the Cougars.

The Mountaineers enter this week’s matchup coming off a high from their win against UCF in Florida, while BYU looks to head to Morgantown for their second straight road game following their loss last week to Texas in Austin. Despite the unknowns about the quarterback position for the Cougars, it’s expected they’ll look maximize their potential in the run game. LJ Martin is the leading rusher for BYU, having accumulated 438-yards thus far. BYU also has weapons at wide receiver in both Chase Robertson and Darius Lassiter. Together the two have combined for 806 receiving yards, with Roberts being the slight favorite of the duo—having 112 more receiving yards and five more receptions. The big question for BYU will be seeing if those two receivers can find a way to still have an impact without Slovis.

The Cougar’s defense has left much to be desired, giving up an average of 31.6 points per game in conference play. The Mountaineers have seemed to find their groove on offense over the course of the past three weeks, which could present some big problems for the Cougars. On the other hand, West Virginia’s defense has seemed to flip in terms of productivity with its offense. The defense premiered with shockingly strong play, but fell apart in both the Houston and Oklahoma State games earlier in the season. Although West Virginia forced four turnovers against UCF last week, UCF still managed to hang 28-points on the Mountaineer’s defense.

Injuries have plagued West Virginia’s defense for the majority of the season, but despite the fact, they’ve been a crucial aspect in the majority of West Virginia’s wins. They’ll face a big challenge this weekend with preparing for a quarterback that no one has seen play, as well as the late notice on Slovis’s injury. Fans should be in for an exciting matchup, with both teams coming into the game with 5-3 records. The Mountaineers and Cougars will get things underway at 7:00 P.M. ET In Morgantown, West Virginia. If you’re looking to beat the cold and watch the game from home, you’ll be able to catch all the action on television through FOX, or through streaming services on Tubo. As always, if you can’t be home, and you can’t be at the game, Tony Caridi will be there with the assist on your local Mountaineer Sports Network radio station with the play-by-play call.