West Virginia sold this game out quickly too. The two teams represent bordering states and have been battling for years since 1919.
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In the second quarter, Howard threw his first interception in 178 pass attempts dating to last season.
The Mountaineers won for the ninth time in the last 10 meetings against their regional rival. That win was rather important because they are now heavy underdogs as they travel to Morgantown to play the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Half of Maryland’s penalties were either personal fouls or pass interference calls. Shelton Gibson caught six passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
Maryland has been rejected back after having a 1-1 show a different side of themselves and start to become 2-1.
-DB Antwaine Carter, a special teams standout, was lost for the season with a Lisfranc injury.
West Virginia crushed Maryland 45-6 in Morgantown to finish the non-conference undefeated. It was a great bounce-back for Nixon and his cohorts after a humbling effort against Bowling Green.
Smallwood and Shell combined for 224 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Maryland.
If past failures are added motivation for this West Virginia uprising, watch out. If the game turns into a shootout, OU’s home field advantage might be the difference. Edsall hasn’t forgotten last year’s loss in College Park.
On defense the name of the game is turnovers. Rowe went 10-for-27 for 67 yards with his four picks. They will need to stop a couple of brothers that are starting to add value to the Terrapin’s this season in Tavion and Levern Jacobs. Hurries and sacks will lead to a mistake the secondary can take advantage of. “We were going to run them out of it, and when they brought them up, throw it behind them”.
West Virginia quarterback Skyler Howard boasts an impressive stat of his own: zero turnovers in 2015.
“Caleb will be the quarterback”, Edsall said.
Safety Karl Joseph is one of the FBS interception leaders, and made one Saturday. He has 4.5 sacks in the last two games and could be a key this week against WVU’s spread.
The same can’t be said for Gibson’s reputation as a gentleman, though, as he absolutely destroyed a cheerleader who was busy reorganising her pom-poms past the endzone. Whoever wins the battle could win the game. “As we all know, it doesn’t all fall on him”.
-FS Anthony Nixon (No. 19 FS, 459th overall) – Nixon helped impeach the USF passing game, the Bulls throwing for just 60 yards despite playing catch-up most of the day.
Maryland gashes the West Virginia defense all game long with Brandon Ross leading the way.
UNTESTED DEFENSE: West Virginia has allowed no first-half points this season and figures to get a test from Maryland if the Terrapins can hold onto the ball.
A large reason for Maryland’s success on the front line is due to the play of defensive linemen Yannick Ngakoue and Quinton Jefferson. WVU can also survive ball games with or without the run game.
Consistency on the offensive line…
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We will preview and offer our prediction on the conference opener next Saturday between the Sooners and the Mountaineers. It starts at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 3 and will air on FS1.
