WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS
at
Joan C. Edwards Stadium (38,019/Field Turf)
Huntington, W.Va.
Television
ESPN — Joe Tessitore and Rod Gilmore
West Virginia Radio
Mountaineer Sports Network
Sirius 122; XM 143
THE GAME • THE FRIENDS OF COAL BOWL
Friday’s game will be the 10th meeting between West Virginia and Marshall and the Mountaineers have taken all nine previous meetings … The schools first met in 1911 and played four times between then and 1923 … The teams resumed acquaintances in 1997 and have met in each of the last four years … Last year’s meeting in Morgantown, W.Va., saw Mountaineer RB Noel Devine rush for 103 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries in a 24-7 win … QB Geno Smith completed 15 of 21 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown off the bench.
No. 23/22 WEST VIRGINIA (1-0)
Head Coach
Bill Stewart (Fairmont State ’75)
20-8, third season at West Virginia
28-33, sixth year as collegiate head coach
NOTES
West Virginia opened its season in impressive fashion as the Mountaineers cruised to a 31-0 win against Coastal Carolina at Milan Puskar Stadium … The Mountaineers not only kept the Chanticleers off the scoreboard, they didn’t allow the visitors to cross the 20-yard line … West Virginia limited Coastal Carolina to 186 yards of offense … RB Noel Devine turned in his 16th career game with at least 100 rushing yards and moved into eighth place on the BIG EAST’s career rushing chart (3,492 yards) … Devine, who ran for 111 yards and a touchdown in the opener, needs 105 yards to tie Mike Cloud of Boston College for seventh on the all-time chart … QB Geno Smith made his first career start and turned in a solid 20-of-27, 216-yard effort with two touchdown passes … WR Jock Sanders had game highs of eight receptions and 71 receiving yards with a touchdown … DB Terence Garvin had a team-high 10 tackles in the season-opener … P Gregg Pugnetti averaged 49.2 yards per punt, hit a long punt of 71 yards and twice pinned Coastal Carolina on the 1-yard line.
MARSHALL (0-1)
Head Coach
Doc Holliday (West Virginia ’79)
0-1, first season
NOTES
Marshall fell to No. 2/2 Ohio State 45-7 in its season opener last Thursday … The Thundering Herd fumbled the opening kickoff and trailed by a touchdown after just four plays … Head coach Doc Holliday is a 1979 graduate of West Virginia who was the associate head coach for the Mountaineers from 2008-09 … Holliday also won a BCS National Championship as the associate head coach at Florida, where he was on the staff with current Louisville head coach Charlie Strong … Holliday is the 29th head coach in program history … Defensive coordinator Chris Rippon was Rutgers’ special teams coordinator in 2009 and also served as an assistant and coordinator at Syracuse for 12 years … Marshall was held to 199 yards of offense in the opener against Ohio State … The Herd’s touchdown came on a 61-yard blocked field goal return by CB Ahmed Shakoor … QB Brian Anderson completed 17 of 28 passes for 135 yards and one interception against Ohio State … WR Antavious Wilson had team highs of five receptions and 38 receiving yards … Marshall was 7-6 overall and 4-4 in Conference USA last season.
