PREVIEW: Mountaineers Travel to Waco Seeking Their First Big 12 Win
The West Virginia Mountaineers (2-3, 0-2) are on the road to take on the Baylor Bears (4-1, 1-1) Saturday at noon and televised on FS1.
Baylor suffered its first loss of the season last week at Oklahoma State 24-14. However, they knocked off Iowa State the previous week.
The Bears' success has been behind a powerful running game, averaging 238.2 yards per game, ranking second in the Big 12, and a mistake-free quarterback in Gerry Bohanon, who is the only quarterback in the Big 12 without an interception and is fourth in the conference in total passing yards with 996.
The rushing attack is led by a pair of talented seniors, Abram Smith and Trestan Ebner. The duo has combined for 858 rushing yards this season, with all six touchdowns coming from Smith, while Ebner adds versatility in the passing game, hauling in seven passes for 77 yards and a touchdown.
At receiver, R.J. Sneed and Tyquan Thornton have combined for 37 of the teams 80 receptions on the season and account for over half of the receiving yards and touchdowns, tallying 593 yards and four touchdowns. Tight end Ben Sims is third on the team with 11 receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
West Virginia's self-infliction has resulted in the worst turnover margin in the Big 12 at -5 while Baylor sits atop the conference at +5. However, Baylor is the most penalized team in the conference.
Sep 18, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Jarret Doege (2) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
The Mountaineers are led by quarterback Jarrett Doege's 241.1 passing yards per game, ranks third in the Big 12, but West Virginia is last in rushing with an average of 116.2 YPG.
Winston Wright Jr. leads a much-improved receiving corps with 26 receptions for 278 yards. Sam James leads the team in receiving touchdowns with three, and Isaiah Esdale is coming off a career-high 113 yards on six receptions and a touchdown against Texas Tech.
Both defenses are positioning themselves as arguably the best in the conference.
Baylor ranks second in passing yards allowed at 155.6 YPG but allows 156.8 on the ground, whereas West Virginia holds opponents to 87.8 rushing YPG and 227.4 through the air.
Baylor may have the best linebacking corps in the conference. Dillon Doyle has a team-leading 39 tackles, including six tackles for a loss, and JACK linebacker Matt Jones is second with 27. Terrell Bernard missed last week but is expected to play on Saturday. He led the team in tackles in 2019 with 112, and playmaking hybrid safety Jalen Pitre is tied with Doyle's six TFL's and has an interception on the season.
Sep 11, 2021; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears safety Jalen Pitre (8) prepares to tackle Texas Southern Tigers running back Jeff Proctor (21) as the ball is handed off by quarterback Thaddeus Peyton (11) in the first quarter at McLane Stadium.
Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
The West Virginia defense has a conference-leading 17 sacks on the year, with defensive linemen Dante Stills and Taijh Alston accounting for eight of them. Alston also is tied for the conference lead in tackles for a loss with seven, and Stills is tied for third with six, while middle linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo is fourth in the conference in total tackles with a team-leading 43 tackles.
Outside of turnovers, the key to the game may come inside the red zone. Both teams rank inside the top 3 in points allowed per game, and Baylor has limited trips into the red zone. In contrast, West Virginia ranks second in the conference and tenth nationally, holding opponents to seven empty trips on 20 attempts – five of those drives ending in a touchdown - the best percentage in the conference by a wide margin.
Baylor has scored 18 out of 20 attempts in the red zone; 15 of those are touchdowns. The Mountaineers held Oklahoma to field goals three out of the four opportunities inside the 20. The Sooners have scored 21 touchdowns on 28 attempts. On the other side, West Virginia is 20-23 in the red zone with 15 touchdowns. The Bears have given up nine touchdowns on 14 attempts.
West Virginia is 6-3 all-time versus Baylor, including winning four out of the last five. The Mountaineers are 1-3 in Waco, with the lone win in 2017, 38-36.
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