Mountaineers, Cougars Face-Off in Thursday Night Matchup

PREVIEW: The West Virginia Mountaineers take their four-game winning streak on the road to take on the Houston Cougars

HOUSTON - The West Virginia Mountaineers (4-1, 2-0) meet the Houston Cougars (2-3, 0-2) Thursday night for the first ever meeting between the two programs. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. and the action will broadcast on FS1.

Both schools are coming off a shortened by week. For West Virginia, it couldn’t have come at a better time with injuries piling up. The Mountaineers will be without starting left guard Tomas Rimac and starting left tackle Wyatt Milum is a game time decision.

Concentrating on getting these guys bodies back fresh,” said WVU offensive coordinator Chad Scott. We gave them a couple of days off. Had a couple of mental days and do some recovery to get their bodies fresh and also continue to do so some little things to continue to get better.”

Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen preferred to play last week, although he appreciated the extra time off for a Thursday night game.

“I was happy with the work that we got, but in a perfect world I would have rather played last Saturday just to keep playing,” he said. “We’re not beat up, we don’t need a bye week,” before referencing the bye week Houston received last year after defeating Memphis 33-32 and reflected on his thoughts following the game “Thank goodness. We need this thing bad. I didn’t feel that after Texas Tech. I felt we left some stuff out there obviously, but I feel like we didn’t need the rest [this week].”

Holgorsen and his staff did use the time to adjust after starting 2-3 overall and 0-2 in conference play, stating they had a lot to improve on before identifying two areas.

“Let’s start with good old-fashioned blocking and tackling,” he said. “Our tackling was horrendous. I think it was over 20 something missed tackles. It’s as bad as it’s been since I’ve been here. Blocking, we got to do a better job of finishing blocks offensively. I don’t think that was the root of our problem but at the end of the day, you got to get back to the what the good old basics of football are.” Then, Holgorsen noted the Mountaineers are “Really, really good at blocking and tackling.”

Sep 30, 2023; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars quarterback Donovan Smith (1) passes against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first half at Jones AT&T Stadium and Cody Campbell Field / Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Houston is third in the league in passing, averaging 281.2 yards per game.

“To me, it all starts with the quarterback Donovan Smith,” said West Virginia head coach Neal Brown. “He’s from Texas Tech. He’s won a lot of big games. If you look at it, going back to when he was at Texas Tech and really if you go back to ’21 and to ’22, he started a multitude of games – played well. The thing that sticks out to me, he’s a coach’s son, so he’s really smart too, you can see that on his decision making but he’s big, he’s really big. He’s a strong runner. They use him to run some, and he’s got a big arm. He’s a guy that I think is really talented that can run and pass and hurt you in both of those.”

The Cougars have plenty of talent on the outside, starting with former Mountaineer receiver Sam Brown. The sophomore leads the league in receptions (34) and receiving yards (518) with one touchdown this season. Joseph Manjack comes in with 25 receptions for 292 yards and two touchdowns and Mathew Golden hauled in 24 passes for 261 yards and a team-leading four touchdowns.

Sep 2, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars wide receiver Samuel Brown (4) runs with the ball after a reception as UTSA Roadrunners cornerback Kam Alexander (18) defends during the second quarter at TDECU Stadium.  / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The rushing attack is spearheaded by freshman Jenkins leading the way with 218 yards (5.3 ypc) and tied for a team-high three rushing touchdowns with Smith, while sophomore Stacey Sneed and former WVU running back Tony Mathis Jr. have combined for 239 yards with Sneed holding the lone touchdown between the two.

Houston has one of the more experienced offensive lines in the country. The unit has combined to play 192 collegiate games, including 145 starts.

The Cougars have fielded one of the worst defenses in the country thus far, allowing 405.8 total yards per game, ranking last in the Big 12.

West Virginia has leaned on a strong running game that is averaging 191.8 yards per game while trying to find rhythm in the passing game. The Mountaineers average a league-worst 155.6 yards through the air.

Offensive coordinator Chad Scott emphasized the offensive has continued to work the deficiencies in practice.

“Just keep working it,” he said. “Chemistry with the receivers and the quarterbacks through our practices, that’s what we’ve done a lot of. We’ve had some extra days of practice with this bye week and so we’ve done a lot more throughout the team periods of implementing a couple more pass concepts and a couple more pass plays during those periods.”

Sep 30, 2023; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers running back CJ Donaldson Jr. (4) runs the ball in the fourth quarter against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Sophomore running back CJ Donaldson is searching for his first 100-plus yard performance of the season after hitting the mark four out of seven appearances a year ago before a season-ending injury. Scott noted Donaldson needed the extra time off.

“He needed it big time – in every way, he said. “He’s a new person. Smiling, talking, so he needed big time. It was huge for him.”

Defensively, the Mountaineers rank third in the conference in points allowed per game (19.0) and total yards allowed per game (335.4).

West Virginia played complimentary football and found ways to win in the final moments during the four-game winning streak while in the two conference games, Houston has been shutout in the second half.

"Four quarters is going to be a focus,” Holgorsen said. “West Virginia is going to shorten the game. They're going to try to control the clock. They're one of the nation's leaders in time of possession. They try to limit possessions, that's how they play. They're really good on defense and most of their games have been low-scoring games and shorter football games."

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