MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A preview of Saturday afternoon’s game at Oklahoma State in today’s Football Friday, presented by the West Virginia Lottery.
Here are some of the key game notes in today’s game preview:
* WVU is 4-4-1 in games played on Nov. 26, including 3-3-1 in games played on the road. The first time that West Virginia played on Nov. 26, was in 1896 when the Mountaineers lost 26-0 to Mahoning Cycle Club in Youngstown, Ohio, and also tied Pittsburgh Athletic Club 0-0. The last time WVU played on Nov. 26 was in 2016 at Iowa State (W 49-19)
* West Virginia is 96-14 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle
* The Mountaineers are No. 42 nationally in third-down conversions (.426) and No. 10 in fourth-down conversions (.700)
* WVU is No. 13 nationally in red-zone offense (.911), No. 22 in first down offense (264) and No. 48 in fewest sacks allowed (1.73)
* West Virginia is ranked No. 33 nationally in time of possession and No. 4 in the Big 12 (31:33)
* The Mountaineers are ranked No. 10 nationally in punt return defense (2.71)
* WVU is ranked No. 23 nationally in net punting (40.90)
* WVU is No. 25 nationally in blocked punts (1) and No. 29 nationally in blocked kicks (2)
* According to PFF College, Bryce Ford-Wheaton is tied for No. 3 nationally among FBS receivers and tied for No. 2 among Power 5 players in contested catches (16)
* Ford-Wheaton is ranked No. 42 nationally and No. 2 in the Big 12 in receptions per game (5.5) and No. 35 in receiving touchdowns (7). He also is No. 7 in the Big 12 in total receiving yards (653)
* Ford-Wheaton is No. 12 in WVU history with 141 career catches. He also is tied for No. 15 in school history with 15 receiving touchdowns. He needs one to tie for No. 13 with Shawn Foreman (1995-98) and Rich Hollins (1980-83) and two to tie for No. 10 with Shelton Gibson (2013-16), Gary Jennings Jr. (2015-18) and Ka’Raun White (2015-17)
* Sam James is No. 5 in career receptions in WVU history with 188 catches. He needs four more catches to pass David Saunders (1995-98) for fourth place. He is No. 8 in receiving yards (2,212). He has 15 receiving touchdowns, tying him for No. 15 with Danny Buggs (1972-74), Kevin White (2013-14) and Ford-Wheaton
* WVU has two of the top five reception leaders in the Big 12, including No. 2 (Ford-Wheaton – 5.45) and No. 4 Kaden Prather (5.00)
* Receiver Sam James is No. 4 in the Big 12 in receiving yards (726), and Ford-Wheaton (653) is No. 7
* Casey Legg is tied for No. 9 nationally in field goal percentage (92.9 – 13/14) and No. 47 in field goals per game (1.18)
* Dante Stills, WVU’s career tackles for loss leader, now has 52.5. He also is the school’s games played record holder (58)
* Stills has 23.5 career sacks, sitting at No. 4 in school history. He needs 2.5 more to tie his father, Gary Stills, for third place
* Jasir Cox is No. 16 nationally and No. 2 in the Big 12 in fumbles recovered (2)
West Virginia is looking to snap its seven-game losing streak to the Cowboys and end its season on a positive note.
The Cowboys plan to recognize their 26 senior players beforehand.
Saturday’s game will kick off at noon ET and will be televised nationally on ESPN2 (Jay Alter and Charles Arbuckle).
Mountaineer Sports Network coverage on stations throughout West Virginia begins with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show at 9 a.m. leading into regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace, and Jed Drenning at 11 a.m.
Listeners can access the broadcast online at WVUsports.com, the WVU Gameday and The Varsity Network apps, or on satellite radio SiriusXM channel 135 or channel 200 on the XM app.