Countdown to Kickoff

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. –West Virginia (6-1, 3-0) plays host to Connecticut (4-3, 1-2) in a 7:30 pm Big East game tonight at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. The game will be televised by ESPN2 (Dave Barnett, Craig James and Rob Stone). Fans can still obtain a two-for-the-price-of-one coupon at any United Bank location throughout West Virginia and redeem it at the game up until game time. This is the fifth time West Virginia has played on Wednesday and the Mountaineers own a 4-1 record on this day. The four previous Wednesday games were against NC State in the 1975 Peach Bowl, against North Carolina in the 1997 Gator Bowl and a pair of regular season night games against Virginia Tech in 2002 and 2003. Here is tonight’s Countdown to Kickoff: 10 – The Mountaineers are ranked TENTH in the country in punt returns with an average of 16.1 yards per return. 9 – NINE West Virginia defenders have at least three tackles for losses this year. Junior linebacker Boo McLee leads the group with six tackles for a total loss of 16 yards. 8 – West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez’ Mountaineer football teams have only been excluded from EIGHT of the last 31 Top 25 polls dating back to Nov. 16, 2003. 7 – WVU has had SEVEN touchdown plays covering 20 yards or longer this year. The Mountaineers’ longest scoring play was a 76-yard punt return by Antonio Lewis against East Carolina. 6 – The Mountaineers have won all SIX night games at Milan Puskar Stadium under current WVU coach Rich Rodriguez. 5 – West Virginia has had FIVE scoring drives of 12 plays or longer including a season-long 15-play, 97-yard drive for a touchdown at Maryland earlier this year. 4 – FOUR West Virginia players (Mike Lorello, Jahmile Addae, Dan Mozes and Garin Justice) have at least 30 games worth of starting experience heading into tonight’s game. Lorello is tops with 33 career starts. 3 – Senior Mike Lorello leads the West Virginia defense with THREE sacks. Six others have two sacks each. 2 – True freshman tailback Steve Slaton has broke the 100-yard mark TWICE this year in back-to-back games against Rutgers and Louisville. Slaton has rushed for 327 yards in those two contests. 1 – Tonight’s game will be the FIRST time Connecticut has traveled to Morgantown to play a football game. Enjoy tonight’s game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete post-game coverage.