NCAAF Game Preview - West Virginia at Missouri
Sat Sep 7, 2019 12:00 PM EDT

TxAM
10
Clem
24
F
NMS
10
Bama
62
F
Murr
17
UGA
63
F
SD
14
Okla
70
F
Cin
0
OSU
42
F
LSU
45
Tex
38
F
Army
21
Mich
24
F(1OT)
Tul
6
Aub
24
F
UT-M
0
Fla
45
F
NIU
17
Utah
35
F
Cal
20
Wash
19
F
Buff
13
PSU
45
F
NEV
6
Oreg
77
F
C Mi
0
Wisc
61
F
UCF
48
FlAtl
14
F
WestMI
17
MSU
51
F
Rut
0
Iowa
30
F
Syr
20
MD
63
F
NoCol
17
WaSt
59
F
Stan
20
USC
45
F
Marsh
7
Boise
14
F
Neb
31
Colo
34
F OT
Wake
41
Rice
21
F
W&M
17
UVA
52
F
SacSt
7
AzSt
19
F
Ohio
10
Pitt
20
F
(N/A)
23
Kent
26
F
WVU
7
MIZ
38
F
Sou
24
Mem
55
F
BGSU
0
K St
52
F
OD
17
VaTec
31
F
ChaSo
10
SCar
72
F
Vand
24
Purd
42
F
UAB
31
Akr
20
F
WCU
0
NCSt
41
F
SoFL
10
GATec
14
F
Ford
29
Ball
57
F
TnTec
17
MiaOH
48
F
SMiss
15
MissSt
38
F
Gram
14
LT
20
F
SIU
45
UMass
20
F
E Il
0
Ind
52
F
Ill
31
UConn
23
F
Rich
13
BC
45
F
UNCC
41
App
56
F
WIl
13
ColSt
38
F
UTSA
14
Bayl
63
F
SDSU
23
UCLA
14
F
ULMon
44
FlaSt
45
F OT
StFPA
7
JMU
44
F
Maine
18
GaSo
26
F
GWebb
9
ECU
48
F
NCAT
13
Duke
45
F
(N/A)
0
SamHu
77
F
Furm
42
GASt
48
F
Chat
20
JacSt
41
F
Wyo
23
TxSt
14
F
JacSt
14
SoAl
37
F
NorTx
27
SMU
49
F
McNee
14
OkSt
56
F
TnSt
26
MidTN
45
F
CoCar
12
Kans
7
F
BYU
29
Tenn
26
F(1OT)
E Ky
0
Lou
42
F
W Ky
20
FLInt
14
F
Stony
7
UtSt
62
F
Ark
17
Miss
31
F
Lib
14
ULLaf
35
F
E Mi
17
KY
38
F
UTEP
3
TxTch
38
F
PVAM
17
Hou
37
F
MiaFL
25
UNC
28
F
Tuls
34
SJSU
16
F
ArkSt
43
UNLV
17
F
MIN
38
Fres
35
F(1OT)
NoAZ
41
Ariz
65
F
OreSt
28
Hawaii
31
F
West Virginia-Missouri Preview
Fri Sep 6, 2019 3:14 AM

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) Missouri coach Barry Odom insisted all fall his team is good enough to play with just about anybody into the fourth quarter.

Turned out lousy for the Tigers last weekend.

Despite a frantic late rally, Missouri fell 37-31 at Wyoming in one of the big upsets so far this season. The Tigers allowed 297 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, and not even a 423-yard passing performance by transfer quarterback Kelly Bryant could save them.

"Obviously not the start that we were anticipating there," Odom said. "We understand who we are and any game that if we prepare the right way and then we go execute, any game that we've got on our schedule will be decided in the fourth quarter. That's who we are as a team."

That's not so bad against the likes of Alabama. Not so good against Wyoming.

Now, the Tigers get a chance to right a start that went completely wrong when West Virginia visits Saturday. The Mountaineers are in a rebuild after coach Dana Holgorsen left for Houston, and they needed 10 points in the fourth quarter to squeak out a 20-13 win over James Madison in their opener.

And if the Tigers had trouble stopping the run, the Mountaineers had trouble getting it started.

Known for its prolific offenses under Holgorsen, West Virginia managed just 34 yards rushing on 24 attempts in Neal Brown's first game as coach. The Mountaineers' longest carry? Five yards.

"The run game was really poor," said Brown, who'd been banking on the run game being one of the most experienced units on the team. "You can look at the stat sheet and say that. I think we lacked physicality across the board. It's easy to blame the O-line or the running backs in the run game, but everybody has a piece in it. It just wasn't very good."

The two schools, who will always be tied together for their roles during conference realignment - the Tigers bolted to the SEC, the Mountaineers backfilled from the old Big East - are in fact meeting for just the third time in Columbia. The most recent of those was 1994.

MORE ON BRYANT

In his first start since transferring from Clemson, Bryant was at turns dynamic and dismal. He had some gaudy passing numbers, including a couple touchdown throws, but often fled the pocket too early and threw an interception.

"Kelly hadn't played in a year, basically," Odom said, "but out of the gate he played pretty well. We always would like a couple back."

SPEAKING OF QBS

West Virginia quarterback Austin Kendall wants to see overall improvement in the offense after a sluggish start. The Mountaineers were outgained 328-294 by James Madison.

"I missed too many vertical balls that were out of the reach of our receivers' hands," said Kendall, an Oklahoma graduate transfer who threw for 260 yards and two TDs. "We've got to be better. We didn't run the ball well. Sometimes we didn't throw the ball well. We've got to be better overall."

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

The Tigers hardly tackled during training camp in an attempt to stay healthy, and it showed in their inability to stop the Cowboys last weekend.

"I'm not raising the level of concern," Odom said. "I need to see a little bit more of the body of work to see where we stack up."

WELL, ONE PERSON TACKLED

Missouri linebacker Cale Garrett had 16 tackles against Wyoming, which makes one wonder how many yards the Cowboys would have had without the senior on the field. It was the most by a Missouri player since Kentrell Brothers had 17 against Georgia in 2015, the year he led the nation in tackles.

BRIGHT SPOT

Bryant isn't the only transfer Missouri is leaning on this season. Wide receiver Jonathan Nance, who led Arkansas in receptions and yards receiving last season, had three catches for 62 yards and two scores against the Cowboys.

"He's a big, explosive guy," said Brown, who remembers watching Nance at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. "I'm certainly familiar with him."

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