West Virginia

vs

Syracuse

Kickoff: 5:15

Location: Orlando, Fl (Camping World Stadium)

TV: ESPN

Announcers:  Dave Flemming (play-by-play),
Rod Gilmore (analyst) and Quint Kessenich (sideline reporter)

Team Stats
Points Per Game	42.3	40.8
Points Allowed Per Game	26.5	27.8
Total Yards	520.4	467.9
Yards Passing	358.1	261.5
Yards Rushing	162.3	206.4
Yards Allowed	405.5	426.8
Pass Yards Allowed	254.6	263.0
Rush Yards Allowed	150.8	163.8

Syracuse 2018 Schedule and Results

Date Opponent Result Fri, 8/31 @ W55-42 Sat, 9/8 vs W62-10 Sat, 9/15 vs W30-7 Sat, 9/22 vs W51-21 Sat, 9/29 @3 L27-23 Sat, 10/6 @ L44-37 OT Sat, 10/20 vs W40-37 2OT Sat, 10/27 vs22 W51-41 Sat, 11/3 @ W41-24 Fri, 11/9 vs W54-23 Sat, 11/17 vs* L36-3 Sat, 11/24 @ W42-21

Syracuse Depth Chart

OFFENSE

QB 2 Eric Dungey (6-4, 226, Sr.) 13 Tommy DeVito (6-2, 211, R-Fr.)

RB 21 Moe Neal (5-11, 191, Jr.) OR 4 Dontae Strickland (5-11, 204, Sr.)

WR 80 Taj Harris (6-3, 175, Fr.) 19 Sharod Johnson (5-11 174, R-Rr.)

WR 10 Sean Riley (5-8, 170, Jr.) 82 Nykeim Johnson (5-8, 167, So.)

WR 17 Jamal Custis (6-5, 213, R-Sr.) 81 Cameron Jordan (6-3, 202, R-Fr.)

TE 6 Ravian Pierce (6-3, 244, Sr.) 36 Chris Elmore (6-0, 282, So.)

LT 60 Cody Conway (6-6, 296, Sr.) 52 Carlos VeƩ orello (6-4, 283, Fr.)

LG 59 Aaron Roberts (6-4, 292, R-Sr.) 57 Dakota Davis (6-5, 327, R-Fr.)

C 68 Airon Servais (6-6, 293, R-So.) 75 Sam Heckel (6-4, 294, R-So.)

RG 63 Evan Adams (6-6, 326, R-Jr.) 72 Andrejas Duerig (6-3, 308, R-Jr.)

RT 78 Koda Maron (6-6, 304, R-Sr.) 69 Patrick Davis (6-5, 318, So.)

DEFENSE

DE 94 Alton Robinson (6-4, 249, Jr.) 57 Kingsley Jonathan (6-3, 256, So.)

NT 98 McKinley Williams (6-4, 295, Jr.) OR 85 Josh Black (6-3, 272, R-So.)

DT 95 Chris Slayton (6-4, 309, R-Sr.) 45 Kenneth Ruff (6-1, 296, Jr.)

DE 55 Kendall Coleman (6-3, 266, Jr.) 97 Brandon Berry (6-4, 251, R-Jr.)

WLB 25 Kielan Whitner (6-0, 215, Sr.) 24 Shyheim Cullen (6-0, 224, R-Jr.)

MLB 41 Ryan Guthrie (6-2, 224, Sr.) 12 Andrew Armstrong (6-2, 228, Jr.) OR 24 Shyheim Cullen (6-0, 224, R-Jr.)

SLB 24 Shyheim Cullen (6-0, 224, R-Jr.) 12 Andrew Armstrong (6-2, 228, Jr.)

CB 21 Trill Williams (6-2, 202, Fr.) 18 Scoop Bradshaw (5-11, 181, Jr.)

FS 19 Andre Cisco (6-0, 199, Fr.) 8 Antwan Cordy (5-8, 177, R-Sr.)

SS 14 Evan Foster (6-0, 223, Jr.) 34 Eric Coley (6-2, 183, R-Fr.)

CB 3 Christopher Fredrick (5-11, 194, R-Jr.) 23 Ifeatu Melifonwu (6-3, 200, R-Fr.)

Syracuse Season Player Stats

West Virginia 2018 Schedule and Results

Date Opponent Result Sat, 9/1 vs* W40-14 Sat, 9/8 vs W52-17 Sat, 9/15 @ Canceled Sat, 9/22 vs W35-6 Sat, 9/29 @25 W42-34 Sat, 10/6 vs W38-22 Sat, 10/13 @ L30-14 Thu, 10/25 vs W58-14 Sat, 11/3 @17 W42-41 Sat, 11/10 vs W47-10 Sat, 11/17 @ L45-41 Fri, 11/23 vs6 L59-56

West Virginia Depth Chart

Offense
WR (X) 8 Marcus Simms (6-0 196 Jr.) 82 Dominique Maiden (6-5 206 Sr.)

TE (H) 88 Trevon Wesco (6-4 272 r-Sr.) 84 Jovani Haskins (6-4 245 r-So.)

LT 72 Kelby Wickline (6-4 301 r-Jr.) 76 Chase Behrndt (6-4 310 r-So.)

LG 73 Josh Sills (6-6 331 r-So.) 57 Michael Brown (6-3 353 r-Jr.)

C 79 Matt Jones (6-3 317 r-Jr.) 78 Jacob Buccigrossi (6-3 306 r-So.)

RG 65 Isaiah Hardy (6-6 335 Sr.) 58 Joe Brown (6-4 354 r-Jr.)

RT 53 Colton McKivitz (6-7 310 r-Jr.) 70 Tyler Thurmond (6-4 288 r-Fr.)

WR (Y) 1 T.J. Simmons (6-2 200 r-So.) 16 William Crest Jr. (6-1 214 r-Sr.)

WR (Z) 13 David Sills V (6-4 210 Sr.) 81 Sam James (6-0 165 Fr.)

QB 11 Jack Allison (6-6 210 r-So.) 10 Trey Lowe III (6-2 220 Fr.)

RB 6 Kennedy McKoy (6-0 205 Jr.) OR 32 Martell Pettaway (5-9 212 Jr.) OR 20 Alec Sinkfield (5-9 188 r-Fr.) OR 4 Leddie Brown (5-11 215 Fr.)

Defense

DE 46 Reese Donahue (6-4 280 Jr) OR 5 Ezekiel Rose 6-2 278 Sr

NT 40 Kenny Bigelow Jr. (6-4 304 r-Sr.) 56 Darius Stills (6-1 293 So.)

DE 12 Jabril Robinson (6-2 271 r-Sr.) 55 Dante Stills (6-4 294 Fr.)

SAM 9 JoVanni Stewart (5-8 195 Jr.) 33 Quondarius Qualls (6-1 229 Sr.)

MIKE 34 Shea Campbell (5-11 235 r-Jr.) 31 Zach Sandwisch (6-2 225 r-So.)

WILL 11 David Long Jr. (5-11 223 r-Jr.) 35 Josh Chandler (5-10 229 Fr.)

LCB 28 Keith Washington Jr. (6-0 178 r-Jr.) 24 Hakeem Bailey (6-0 193 r-Jr.)

FS 2 Kenny Robinson Jr. (6-2 198 So.) 29 Sean Mahone (5-11 198 r-So.)

SPUR 6 Dravon Askew-Henry (6-0 201 r-Sr.) 26 Deamonte Lindsay (6-1 212 r-Jr.)

BS 3 Toyous Avery Jr. (5-11 200 r-Sr.) 39 Dante Bonamico (5-8 185 r-So.)

RCB 4 Josh Norwood (5-10 180 r-Jr.) 1 Derrek Pitts Jr. (6-0 182 So.)

Season Player Stats

Receiving

This will be the 61^st meeting between the West Virginia Mountaineers (8-3) and the Syracuse Orange (9-3). Syracuse leads the all-times series 33-27 and have won three-straight over West Virginia. Prior to Syracuse winning the last three, the Mountaineers won eight straight against the Orange.

There’s been some heated moments between the two programs, but there arguably wasn’t bigger controversy than the bench clearing brawl in 1992.

It’s been six years since these two have met annually and the rivalry has simmered down. However, some debate whether a not the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy should be up for grabs during the bowl game with Syracuse has surfaced after the Orange declined to take it to Orlando.

The Orange had a bit of a surprising season, finishing second in the Atlantic Division of the ACC, after being picked last in the preseason. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers fell a game short of making a trip to Arlington, Texas for the Big 12 Championship.

The Syracuse offense revolves around quarterback Eric Dungy. The Orange run a spread option system thats heavily involved in the run game, averaging over 200 yards a game on the ground. Don’t let their success on the ground fool you. Dungy may not be as efficient through the air as most of the QB’s the Mountaineers have seen this season, but they pull defenses in with the running game and can hit the big play behind the secondary.

The West Virginia defense has struggled to stop a dual-threat quarterback this season. The Mountaineer defense has seen some of the best receivers in the country along with a Heisman winner. . They should be able to win the match-ups on the outside, it will be a matter of if they can get pressure in the backfield, along with stopping the running game to try to stifle this potent Syracuse offense.

Syracuse doesn’t run anything WVU hasn’t seen thus far this season; nonetheless, the Mountaineer defense has given up over 1,300 yards and 100 points in the last two game.,

Syracuse runs a four-man front on the defensive side of the ball, anchored by defensive tackle Chris Slayton. The Orange have a great pair of linebackers in Ryan Guthrie and Kielan Whitner. They have combined for 197 tackles on the season. Free safety Andre Cisco has seven interceptions this season and will try to slow down the Mountaineer receivers.

Starting defensive end Alton Robinson and defensive tackle McKinley Williams will miss the bowl game due to personal reasons. Robinson led the Orange in sacks this season with 10 and contributed 17 tackles for losses, 11 QB hits, and three forced fumbles.

Missing several key contributors doesn’t bode well for the Orange, considering they ranked 10^th in total defense in the ACC.

West Virginia is without starting quarterback Will Grier; however, sophomore Jack Allison has all the tools to run the Mountaineer offense.

Head Coach Dana Holgorsen is taking over play-calling duties for the bowl game, after the departure of offensive coordinator Jake Spavital departed to take the head coaching job at Texas State. Holgorsen was a little more run heavy in his final year as offensive coordinator in 2016 with Skyler Howard under center and he’s expected to lean on his stable of talented running back to take the pressure off an inexperienced Allison.

The Mountaineers will also be without leading receiver Gary Jenning, but the cupboard is not bare. They’ve featured tight end Trevon Wesco late in the season and still have David Sills and Marcus Simms to get behind the secondary.

This old bitter rivalry is setting up to be an instant classic with neither side of the ball having a clear advantage going into the game.