West Virginia And Alabama Game Information And Notes
By Chris Hale
We made it! The time is upon us to get this 2014 college football season underway. This is your one stop for all of the West Virginia and Alabama game information.
West Virginia (4-8 last season) vs #2 Alabama (11-2 last season)
Date: August 30, 2014
Time: 2:36 CDT
Location: Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia
Local Weather: Scattered thunderstorms with a 50 percent chance of precipitation. 85 degrees with a heat index of 92. Inside the dome: PERFECT
Stadium Capacity: 71,250
Television Info: ABC/ESPN2
Broadcast Crew: Dave Pasch as play-by-play announcer, Brian Griese as color analyst and Tom Luginbill as sideline reporter
Radio Info: Crimson Tide Sports Network (RollTide.com for availability) Eli Gold as play-by-play announcer, Phil Savage as color analyst and Chris Savage as sideline reporter. Also 91 on Sirius/XM
Vegas Odds: Via Bovada-Alabama (-25.5) with an over/under of 55
Next up for Alabama: September 6 vs Florida Atlantic at Bryant Denny Stadium, 11 am kickoff on SEC Network
Game Notes
When toe meets leather in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and West Virginia Mountaineers, it will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
The Tide returns 13 starters from last year’s 11-2 team while the Mountaineers return 19 from their 4-8 squad. Alabama brings their 15-6-1 record in domed stadiums to Atlanta (7-3 in Coach Saban’s tenure) which includes a 6-1 mark since 2009. The Mountaineers have won 101 of their last 142 regular season games and 106 of 153 in overall games.
For the 2014 season, Alabama returns 15 of the 19 players that hauled in a reception during the last season which ranks as tied for fifth nationally. They also return 77.9 percent of the receptions from last season as well as returning the leading receiver from that year in Amari Cooper, who had 45 catches for 736 yards. Running back T.J. Yeldon, with back-to-back 1000 plus yard rushing seasons in his first two years will lead a stable of running backs including Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake. Since 2008, the Tide is 60-1 when they rush for over 140 yards and since that same year, have averaged 217.8 yards per game. Alabama has also led the Southeastern Conference in total defense for the past six straight seasons and became the first team in the conference’s history to do so.
West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett returns as the starter for this season and saw action in eight games last season and started five. Trickett attempted 233 passes and completed 123 for 1,605 yards with seven touchdowns and the same amount of interceptions. Four running backs from the 2013 squad return including Dreamius Smith, who rushed for 545 rushing yards and five touchdowns. They also return three wide receivers that had over 400 yards in receptions last year including the team leader in Mario Alford with two touchdowns on 552 yards. Returning players to the Mountaineer offense accounted for 69 percent (3,148) of last season receiving yards. The defense returns 11 starters from last year but during last season, 17 players were injured and missed 73 games. Those returning accounted for 655 of the team’s 900 total tackles.
Be sure to check back with Bama Hammer and The Houndztooth for all of your gameday coverage.