Stat Projections for Khalil Wilkins and the WVU Offense Ahead of BYU Showdown

Tonight, the West Virginia Mountaineers will look to spring the upset of No. 23 BYU despite entering the matchup as massive underdogs. How will Khalil Wilkins and Co. perform against this stingy defense? I've got some stat projections for you.

QB Khalil Wilkins

Passing: 9-for-18 for 121 yards, INT

Rushing: 15 carries for 80 yards, TD

This is a really difficult situation that Wilkins is likely to be thrown into. While it's been reported that he will start, WVU is also considering playing Max Brown and Scotty Fox. The expectation is that Wilkins gets the nod, but will almost certainly rotate in the other two available. I believe we'll see some good and some bad in this one because he's too athletic not to muster up some sort of positive vibes, but this Cougars defense really knows how to get after it. If it ends up being a bad night for him, don't write him off just yet. A difficult situation, a difficult opponent.

RB Tye Edwards

Rushing: 6 carries for 35 yards

Edwards is on track to make his return to the field tonight, but it may come in a limited capacity. He's still working through the hip pointer, and with the bye week on deck, they're going to want to be careful with his usage. At least, that's what I would assume.

RB Diore Hubbard

Rushing: 14 carries for 54 yards

Hubbard proved a week ago that he could be trusted to not only run the ball, but also do things away from the football (such as pass protection) to be a part of this running back rotation moving forward. I get the sense that he'll be the lead back tonight and rip off a couple of big runs, but other than that, he'll be bottled up. This is the 8th-ranked run defense in the country, however.

WR Cam Vaughn

1 catch for 7 yards

Vaughn has another quiet day as BYU knows Wilkins will be looking to target him. They (and everyone else WVU faces) want to force someone else to beat them, and if they do, they'll tip their hat.

WR Justin Smith-Brown

5 catches for 71 yards

With Vaughn being essentially taken out of the game, this could be a good spot for a guy like Justin Smith-Brown to pop through with a decent game.

WR Rodney Gallagher III

2 catches for 18 yards

TE Grayson Barnes

1 catch for 25 yards