West Virginia Mountaineers Vs. Towson Tigers Game Time, TV And Preview

When the sun starts to set in Morgantown on Saturday, the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Towson University Tigers will both be seeking their first victory of the college football season.

Both teams got off to 0-1 starts last week as the Blue and Gold lost on the road 33-23 against the Alabama Crimson Tide while the Tigers went down to defeat at home 31-27 against the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils. Today’s contest is the first ever meeting of the programs on the gridiron.

West Virginia, which is part of the NCAA D-1 Football Bowl Subdivision, is 86-18-6 all-time in season home openers. Meanwhile Towson, a member of the NCAA D-1 Football Championship Subdivision, is putting their 11-game road winning streak on the line tonight. In their most recent match-up against an FBS opponent last August, they defeated the University of Connecticut Huskies 33-18.

When: Saturday, Sept. 6

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

Site: Milan Puskar Stadium

Playing Surface: Field Turf

Television Coverage: ROOT Sports Pittsburgh

Announcers: Rob King and Mike Logan with Dale Wolfley reporting from the sidelines

Radio Coverage: WZST 100.9 FM and the Mountaineers Sports Network From IMG

Announcers: Tony Caridi and Dwight Wallace with Jed Drenning reporting from the sideline

Streaming Audio: WVU Media Player

Sirius XM Satellite Radio: Sirius Channel 102, XM Channel 196

Odds: Bovada Sports Book in Vegas did not have a line posted for this match-up.

Last week, West Virginia moved the ball between the 20s against the Crimson Tide defense as the Mountaineers finished the evening in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome with 393 total yards of offense.

Redshirt senior quarterback Clint Trickett completed 29 of 45 passes for 365 yards, no interceptions, and one touchdown. The 6-foot-2 signal caller also ran the ball four times for 14 yards.

The air attack found success starting with senior wide receiver Kevin White, who hauled in nine catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. Trickett also targeted sophomore running back Wendell Smallwood, who had six catches for 73 yards. Coming in with five catches was junior wide receiver Jordan Thompson for 62 yards.

Rushel Shell, a redshirt sophomore running back from Hopewell, Pa, led the ground game for the Blue and Gold as he contributed 41 yards on 10 carries against Alabama.

On special teams, senior wide receiver Mario Alford’s 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Alabama was the seventh time since 1997 that a Mountaineer player has produced a 100-yard return for a score.

Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore placekicker Josh Lambert was good on three of his four field goal attempts with the longest one being made at 42 yards.

The West Virginia defense was led by sophomore cornerback Daryl Worley, who had nine solo tackles and an interception. Redshirt junior linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski and junior safety Karl Joseph each put up seven solo tackles with Joseph assisting on 11 more stops on the night.

On the other side of the field, Rob Ambrose is in his sixth season at the helm of the Tigers. and won a school record 13 games last season as Towson made it to the FCS national championship game before falling to the North Dakota State Bison in the title contest. He is 32-30 overall with the Black and Gold.

With last week’s loss against Central Connecticut, Towson dropped to No. 19 in the FCS Coaches Poll and to No. 22 in the Sports Network’s FCS Top 25. Prior to that game, the Tigers were No. 7 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 13 in the Sports Network rankings.

The Mountaineers defense will need to keep Towson junior quarterback Connor Frazier under control as he completed 14 of 26 passes last week for 125 yards, no interceptions, and one touchdown. The 6-foot, 200-pound signal caller also contributed two touchdowns rushing as he ran the ball 13 times for 103 yards.

Frazier’s favorite targets last week were senior wide receivers Derrick Joseph, who hauled in five passes for 28 yards, and Spence Wilkins, with three catches for 31 yards. It was 6-foot-6 sophomore tight end Tanner Vallely who was on the receiving end of Frazier’s touchdown toss.

The other key component in the Tigers ground game last week was sophomore running back Darius Victor as he had 19 carries for 108 yards and one touchdown against CCSU.

Last week, the Towson defense was led by a pair of juniors as cornerback Donnell Lewis and defensive tackle Jon Desir each had five solo tackles. The senior class also contributed as cornerback Tye Smith and Ryan Delaire each put up four solo tackles with Delaire also adding a sack to the score sheet.

With the weatherman calling for a possibility of rain tonight in the Morgantown area, we may need our ponchos to see who can claim their first win and build momentum for the rest of the season.