BYU (2-3, 5-3) at West Virginia (3-2, 5-3)
Kickoff: Saturday, 5 p.m. MDT.
Venue: Milan Puskar Stadium (Capacity: 67,215).
TV: Fox.
Livestream: https://www.foxsports.com/live
Radio: KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM/BYU Radio Sirius XM 143.
Series: West Virginia leads, 1-0.
Weather: Mostly cloudy skies at kickoff, with temperatures in the high 50s dropping into the mid-40s as night falls. Wind gusts from the southwest up to 10 mph are expected. A slight chance of rain showers.
The trends
For BYU: The Cougars are coming off a disappointing 35-6 loss at No. 7 Texas in which they committed three turnovers and could never really get their offense on track. It was the first time BYU has failed to score a touchdown since 2019 at San Diego State when Zach Wilson was at the controls. BYU is making its first visit to the state of West Virginia in program history, but the Cougars have faced the Mountaineers before. West Virginia took a 35-32 win over Taysom Hill-quarterbacked BYU in 2016 in Landover, Maryland.
For West Virginia: Picked to finish dead last in the 14-team Big 12, the Mountaineers have already surpassed expectations under coach Neal Brown, who is in his fifth year. West Virginia is coming off a 41-28 win at UCF and, like BYU, is a win away from bowl eligibility.
The Mountaineers have rushed for 140 or more yards in 11 straight games, which is currently the longest streak among Power Five conference programs. CJ Johnson rushed for a season-high 121 yards in the win over the Knights.
What to watch for
The Cougars bounced back with a win after each of their first two losses in 2023, defeating Cincinnati after falling at Kansas and Texas Tech after falling at TCU. They have won eight straight games in the month of November, dating back to the 2019 loss at San Diego State. The Cougars are 18-5 in November under head coach Kalani Sitake, in his eighth season.
The Cougars will look to get their sputtering offense moving, having failed to pass the 300-yard mark in six of their eight games. They are rushing for just 81.3 yards per game, among the bottom 10 in the country in that category.
West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene ran for 55 yards and three touchdowns in the win at UCF and the Knights forced four turnovers. It was the first time WVU had five rushing touchdowns in the same game since 2017 against Kansas.
Key player
Ryan Rehkow, junior, BYU, punter: Don’t laugh. We are making Rehkow a key player to watch because the BYU-West Virginia game figures to be a field position struggle, and a defensive battle. At least the low-scoring Cougars are hoping for that. Field position will be at a premium, especially if both teams take care of the football. Two of Rehkow’s punts have been returned for touchdowns this season, partly because he’s outkicked his coverage. Twenty-four of his 48 punts this year have traveled more than 50 yards, and 15 have been downed inside the 20-yard line.
Quotable
“West Virginia is playing some really good football, watching them on film. They take advantage of assignment sound football. They are tough, and they are gritty and I think it is going to be a good matchup for us. I am looking forward to getting the best out of our guys against them because you can see it on film. I think I say that every week, but in the Big 12 conference, there are not a lot of weaknesses out there.”— BYU coach Kalani Sitake
“(BYU) is a national brand and a very proud program. We’re going to need our fans to show up, especially our students, because we need it to be loud. (BYU) will have their fans here because they travel. It is one of the few East Coast games they play, so they will have some fans here, and we need to be able to overcome that.” — West Virginia coach Neal Brown
Next up
BYU: vs. Iowa State on Nov. 11.
West Virginia: at Oklahoma on Nov. 11.
BYU schedule
- Aug. 31 — BYU 14, Sam Houston 0.
- Sept. 9 — BYU 41, Southern Utah 16.
- Sept. 16 — BYU 38, Arkansas 31.
- Sept. 23 — Kansas 38, BYU 27.
- Sept. 29 — BYU 36, Cincinnati 27.
- Oct. 14 — TCU 44, BYU 11.
- Oct. 21 — BYU 27, Texas Tech 14.
- Oct. 28 — Texas 35, BYU 6.
- Nov. 4 — at West Virginia, 5 p.m. MDT.
- Nov. 11 — vs. Iowa State, 8:15 p.m. MST.
- Nov. 18 — vs. Oklahoma (TBA).
- Nov. 25 — at Oklahoma State (TBA).
