Ohio (0-1 overall) will host West Virginia (1-0 overall) Saturday for what could be the biggest game in Peden Stadium history.
The stadium, with a capacity of 24,000, will be packed for what ought to be a very competitive game. Peden will have plenty of gold and blue in the stands with the many Mountaineers fans that will choose to make the roughly two and a half hour trip to Athens.
If you are going to the game, plan to get there early to avoid the lines and crowds that will be happening all across Athens on Saturday.
Now, let's take a look at West Virginia’s squad.
Head coach
This season, the Mountaineers welcomed a familiar face back in Morgantown as Rich Rodriguez returns for his second stint as head coach of West Virginia’s football program.
Rodriguez is a West Virginia native who spent his college playing days as a Mountaineer. He led the program to their most successful stint in college history during his time there from 2001-2007 where they were annual national title contenders.
He has bounced around college football since then coaching for Michigan, Arizona and most recently, Jacksonville State, which happens to be the school that Ohio beat in the Cure Bowl last year, although Rodriguez wasn’t coaching that game.
Quarterbacks
The Mountaineers have a couple of talented signal callers on the roster, but redshirt junior Nicco Marchiol is the starter for this year, and he showed why in week one. He threw for 224 yards while adding a touchdown on the ground in a 45-3 win against Robert Morris University.
Last year, he played sparingly, throwing for 434 yards and five touchdowns along with two interceptions in eight games last year.
The other quarterback who impressed was Mentor, Ohio, native Scotty Fox, as he went for a 59-yard touchdown run in the home opener.
Running backs
The biggest star returning at West Virginia this season can be found at the running back position in Jahiem White.
The star Mountaineer had a breakout season last year as a sophomore, as he ran for 845 yards and seven touchdowns, and he picked up right where he left off against Robert Morris, going for 94 yards and a touchdown.
For a new Ohio front six, the rushing threat of White will be a tough challenge in the home opener.
Wide receivers
The headliner of the wide receivers for West Virginia is redshirt sophomore Cam Vaughn. The Bobcats already know what Vaughn is all about, as he torched the Ohio secondary as a member of Jacksonville State’s football team in the Cure Bowl.
Vaughn went for nine catches, 183 yards and one touchdown last year in Orlando, including a 75-yard one-play touchdown to tie the game.
Two other standouts from week one against Robert Morris were tight end Grayson Barnes, who had three catches for 37 yards and redshirt senior receiver Jaden Bray, who had three catches for 26 yards.
Defense
Former Ironton Fighting Tiger and Ohio State Buckeye, Reid Carrico, is the main man in the middle of the West Virginia defense, and he had a very solid opening game at linebacker against Robert Morris.
He went for four tackles with two for a loss, along with a sack. Dublin, Ohio, native Hammond Russell had multiple sacks against Robert Morris, as well.
Zac Alley is the first-year defensive coordinator, and he plays an aggressive style of defense that was on display last year when he was an assistant for Oklahoma.
