×
X logo

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox.

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)

You may opt-out anytime by clicking "unsubscribe" from the newsletter or from your account.

Plenty of Tickets Left For WVU Bowl Game

MORGANTOWN — According to according to West Virginia University Senior Associate Athletic Director/External Affairs’ Matt Wells, nearly 5,000 tickets for the Xaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl remain unsold.

“Including the tickets we have held for thru internal usage (official travel party, player’s families, band, etc) we have accounted for approximately 1,300 tickets so far,” Wells said.

West Virginia (7-5, 5-4 Big 12) is slated to take on Utah (6-6, 3-6 Pac-12) the day after Christmas.

Each school received 6,175 tickets for the 1:30 p.m. game, which will be played in the historic Cotton Bowl and televised on ESPN.

“The date of the game and the impact making the trip would have on our fans’ holiday season is the primary factor we have heard related to this year’s bowl game,” Wells said.

This will mark the Mountaineers’ third trip to the Lone Star state — WVU suffered a 31-24 setback to No. 15 TCU, but held on to beat Baylor 38-36.

The bowl matchup will be the second time the Utes and Mountaineers have played each other, and the second in a bowl setting.

The Utes became bowl eligible in the final game of the regular season when theybeat Colorado 34-13 at home.

Sophomore running back Zack Moss led the way with 196 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

The Mountaineers finished with a 7-5, 5-4 record comes into the game winning only two of its last five games to finish the regular season and without one of its top weapons — junior quarterback Will Grier, who is to find out this week if he will be available for the game.

Grier, who threw for more than 3,400 yards and 34 touchdowns, broke the middle finger on his throwing hand while trying to score on a 3rd-and-goal run in a 28-14 loss to Texas.

If Grier is not cleared redshirt sophomore Chris Chugunov will get his second start for the Mountaineers. The New Jersey native has completed 34 of 62 throws for 407 yards and two touchdowns in limited service this season.

The last time the Utes and Mountaineers faced one another in the postseason was in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 19, 1964. Utah went on to win the game by a 32-6 score.

The upcoming bowl will be the sixth in seven years for WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen and the 12th for Whittingham, who currently holds college football’s best bowl-winning percentage (with more than 10 bowl appearances) at 90.9 percent. Whittingham’s only bowl loss as a head coach came in 2010 at the Las Vegas Bowl against Boise State.

“We’re extremely excited to announce to that we will be playing in the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl this year,” WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen said. “Dallas, and the Cotton Bowl, are great venues for our players, coaches and fans.”

West Virginia is headed to a bowl game for the 36th time in its proud history. The Mountaineers are playing in their first Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl. This will be the fifth time West Virginia plays a bowl game in Texas, and the first in 30 years. The Mountaineers’ five previous bowl visits to the Lone Star State were the Sun Bowl three times (1937, 1948 and 1987) and the Bluebonnet Bowl (1984).

Dana Holgorsen is in his seventh season as the head coach at West Virginia, leading the Mountaineers to six bowl games, including the last four years. Holgorsen is 53-36 overall at West Virginia and 2-3 in bowl games.

“Our fans have done a wonderful job of supporting our team during the season and I fully believed that they will continue to travel well for our bowl game,” Director of Athletics Shane Lyons said.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today