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PrintMORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Only two Division I college running backs in the country average more yards per game than West Virginia's Noel Devine.
- Matchup: West Virginia (4-1) vs. Marshall (4-2), 3:30 p.m. today, Mountaineer Field. The Mountaineers are favored by 201/2 points.
- TV/Radio/Internet: WPCW; WWVA-AM (1170), Mountaineer Sports Network and ESPN360.com.
- West Virginia: Is 8-0 against Marshall in this series that is now, for the fourth time, the "Friends of Coal Bowl." ... Has been balanced on offense, throwing for 1,285 yards and rushing for 961 ... Is coming off a win at Syracuse in which nine players caught a pass from quarterback Jarrett Brown.
- Marshall: Is coming off a 31-10 win at Tulane last week in which the defense forced four turnovers and quarterback Brian Anderson completed 18 of 22 passing attempts. ... Safety Ashton Hall broke a school record held by New England receiver Randy Moss -- his vertical leap is 44 inches; Moss' was 43.
- Hidden stat: Even though the teams have played eight times, there was a span from 1923 until 1997 where they did not play
One of them will be playing opposite Devine at Mountaineer Field today.
"I knew this [line of questioning] was coming," Devine said when asked about Marshall running back Darius Marshall, who is second in the country at 147.4 rushing yards per game.
Devine, third at 126.2 yards per game, continued: "I haven't seen too much of him. ... I wouldn't compare us two, just because our teams are rivals."
Hmmm, interesting stuff.
For as much as Devine does not want to make this out to be a head-to-head clash of the two running backs who trail only Fresno State's Ryan Mathews (148.2 ypg), it invariably has been steered that way by fans and media in the run-up to the final non-league game for the Mountaineers (4-1, 1-0 Big East Conference).
West Virginia coach Bill Stewart knows Marshall, the player, will be the catalyst for Marshall, the university, which comes in with a 4-2 record.
"I have been watching the film for a long time, and Darius Marshall has it," Stewart said of the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Georgian who is a mixture of speed and power.
"He runs and plays hard. I watched the kickoff return, and last year he ran up and down the field on us. It looked like he was running sprints at a track meet. This year, he has done the same thing. When he doesn't have the ball, he blocks. He is a great football player. We will have our hands full with No. 5 Darius Marshall."
In a 27-16 victory earlier this season for the Thundering Herd, Memphis had its hands full with Darius Marshall. It was his most impressive performance of the year, as he ran for 203 yards and three touchdowns, breaking a 69-yard, second-quarter touchdown run through the Tigers' defense.
Impressive? Well, kind of, says a member of the Mountaineers' secondary.
"He's shifty and can make a play at any given time," West Virginia strong safety Sidney Glover said. "He's just another good running back that we'll have to be on edge with, but it's nothing we haven't seen."
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