College Football
Preview
Central Florida at West Virginia
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, November 23, 2024
Where: Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia

With bowl bids looming, Big 12 foes UCF and West Virginia meet to shore up their postseason chances on Saturday in Morgantown, W.Va.

More pressure exists for UCF (4-6, 2-5), which is on its fourth starting quarterback of the season. Coach Gus Malzahn has shuffled from KJ Jefferson, who started the first five games, to EJ Colson, then Jacurri Brown, who lost the job after throwing four interceptions in losses against BYU and Iowa State.

Malzahn has placed the ball in the hands of Dylan Rizk, a Florida native who completed 44 of 59 passes for 523 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in a 35-31 loss at Arizona State and a 56-12 home win over Arizona.

The latter is UCF's only win in the past seven outings.

The Knights' offense revolves around the run game, starting with RJ Harvey, the leading rusher in the Big 12. He has amassed 1,328 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven 100-yard games.

To achieve bowl eligibility, the Knights roll out of the bye week in a must-win matchup at West Virginia, then also win their home finale against struggling Utah.

"We're focused on this game, not the next game," Malzahn said Monday. "(We're) going to a tough place to play, there's no doubt about it. They're a team that's similar to us that got after us pretty good last year."

The Mountaineers (5-5, 4-3) beat UCF 41-28 in Orlando last season.

In that win, quarterback Garrett Greene rushed for three scores and completed 14 of 23 pass attempts for 156 yards.

This season, the senior from Florida has passed for 1,589 yards with 11 TDs and nine interceptions and rushed for 600 yards and five scores.

West Virginia enters the matchup on a down note, losing 49-35 at home to Baylor last Saturday.

Due to proximity, Mountaineers coach Neal Brown knows Malzahn well from their days coaching in Alabama, when Brown led Troy and Malzahn walked the sidelines at Auburn.

"Coach Malzahn wants to run the football," Brown said Monday. "They're one of the top rushing offenses in the country. It starts with their running back, Harvey. He was really good last year, (but) he's elite this year. Tough to tackle, makes people miss and has a great feel for their zone schemes that they're running."

West Virginia needs to win either against UCF or at Texas Tech in the finale on Nov. 30 to become bowl eligible.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W‑L Strk PF PA Home Away Grass Turf Conf
Central Florida 4-6 L1 33.0 26.4 3-3 1-3 4-6 0-0 2-5
West Virginia 5-5 L1 29.6 30.0 2-4 3-1 1-1 0-0 4-3
Last Meeting
Central Florida West Virginia
Date Away Home Tot Rus Pas Tot Rus Pas
10/28/23 WVU 41 UCF 28 463 189 274 450 286 164
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Passing Player COMP % YDS TD INT
Central Florida J. Plumlee 69.4 274 3 3
West Virginia G. Greene 60.9 156 0 0
Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD
Central Florida R. Harvey 14 100 7.1 0
West Virginia C. Donaldson Jr. 17 121 7.1 1
Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD
Central Florida K. Hudson 3 66 22.0 2
West Virginia D. Carter 3 47 15.7 0
Touchdowns Player TD
Central Florida K. Hudson 2
West Virginia G. Greene 3
Season
Passing Player COMP % YDS TD INT
Central Florida K. Jefferson 59.3 1012 7 4
West Virginia G. Greene 54.6 1589 11 9
Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD
Central Florida R. Harvey 196 1328 6.8 19
West Virginia J. White 116 639 5.5 5
Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD
Central Florida K. Hudson 38 623 16.4 3
West Virginia H. Clement 31 454 14.6 3
Touchdowns Player TD
Central Florida R. Harvey 21
West Virginia C. Donaldson Jr. 8
Quickchart Matchup
Central Florida Central Florida Off vs  West Virginia West Virginia Def
Central Florida 464.6 yards
West Virginia 402 yards
Central Florida 6 yards/rush
West Virginia 3.8 yards/rush
Central Florida 8.1 yards/attempt
West Virginia 9.1 yards/attempt
West Virginia West Virginia Off vs  Central Florida Central Florida Def
West Virginia 399.5 yards
Central Florida 355.5 yards
West Virginia 4.9 yards/rush
Central Florida 3.6 yards/rush
West Virginia 7.5 yards/attempt
Central Florida 7.1 yards/attempt