When/Where

Date: September 16, 2017

Time: 12:00pm EST

Venue: Mountaineer Field, Morgantown, WV

Watch/Listen

TV: AT&T Sports Net (formerly Root)

Streaming: N/A

Radio: Click HERE for a complete list of radio affiliates in West Virginia. If you live outside of the state, or don’t live close enough to a radio affiliate, you can listen to the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG on TuneIn Radio.

Odds

Spread: West Virginia -56 (SportsChatPlace.com)

O/U: 61.5

UniWatch

West Virginia:

The Mountaineers have announced that they'll be wearing blue shirts with blue pants and white helmets. I've always been a fan of those white helmets, and pairing them with all blue should give us an extremely clean look.

Delaware State:

Delaware State is wearing their away strip.

Know the Enemy

Series History: WVU will soon lead the series 1-0, but as of now these two teams have never met on the gridiron.

Record: 0-2. The Hornets opened the season with consecutive losses to Delaware and Hampton, and haven't actually won a game since November 2015. Doesn't bode well for their chances this Saturday.

Head Coach: Kenny Carter. Carter is in his third year in charge of Delaware State and is looking to find some success after recording just one win in his previous two years. He actually has some big time coaching experience on his resume, with stints at LSU, Pitt, Penn State, Vanderbilt, Florida, and Louisville prior to taking over in Dover.

Offensive Coordinator: Vincent White. White is in the third year of his second stint at Delaware State after previously serving as the team's running backs and tight ends coach in 2005. He, too, has some impressive experience, including a stint at Pitt from '97-'99 where he met Kenny Carter.

Defensive Coordinator: Gerard Wilcher. Wilcher is in his second year at Delaware State and has previous experience at Seton Hill, Lehigh, and Cornell.

By the Numbers

Delaware State's statistical profile does not paint a pretty picture. The Hornets have been outscored 50-18 through two games and have been decidely outgained by their opponents both on the ground (by an average of 180-85) and through the air (255.5-160.5). I would be shocked if we don't hit those benchmarks by halftime.

When we have the ball

Players to watch: LB Malik Harris, S Brock Nichols, LB Brian Cavicante

Key to the game: Don't get hurt

ECU's defense was bad last week. Delaware State's is worse. The Hornets have given up well over 400 yards to both Howard and Delaware, and as I mentioned above, have not won a game in almost 2 years. I don't know too much about any of their guys aside from the fact that the three mentioned above are their three leading tacklers. They've only generated two sacks so far this season, so we shouldn't have any trouble protecting Will. In light of all that, I think we'll have our way with them. Let's drop another 49-spot by half and give our guys a rest ahead of conference play next week.

When they have the ball

Players to watch: QB James McDaniels, RB Mike Waters, RB Brycen Alleyne

Key to the game: Don't get hurt

Their QB is only completing 46% of his passes and they're only running for 85 yards per game. You tell me what we should be worried about. This is a team we should realistically be able to shut out without scouting. You know we're not gonna show anything, so let's just go play 60 minutes of disciplined, mistake-free football.

Special Teams

Players to watch: ???

Key to the game: Keep kickoffs inbounds

Another week, another opportunity to improve. I'd like to see 100% of kickoffs inbounds, and a punt average over 40. If we do that I'll be happy.

Final Thoughts/Prediction

This is nothing more than a paycheck game. We won't learn much, but if we get out of there with no injuries I'll count it as a raving success.

West Virginia 63 Delaware State 10