Week 9 of the college football season is upon us, as are 27-straight days with a football game thanks to some #MACtion Tuesday and Wednesday games. In our weekly feature, we examine what are a seemingly plethora of matchups on Saturday that pit some top-tier, next-level talent on both sides of the ball, namely the Penn State-Ohio State showdown, and what is expected to be an absolute shootout in Morgantown with Oklahoma State and West Virginia squaring off.

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Oklahoma State @ West Virginia

When Oklahoma State is on offense:

• Oklahoma State QB Mason Rudolph is coming off a tough game last week against Texas, but has been having a phenomenal season overall. He throws one of the best deep balls in college football, with an adjusted completion percentage on such passes of 53.5 percet, which ranks 11th in the nation.
• It doesn’t hurt that his top two receivers James Washington (87.0 overall grade) and Marcell Ateman (87.4) are both top 10 in the country in terms of overall grade. Washington’s 4.04 yards per route run ranks third in the NCAA while Ateman’s 3.85 is not far behind at fifth.
• Rudolph will likely be forced to look their way often as West Virginia will use star slot corner/free roaming safety Kyzir White to shut down the Cowboys’ star slot receiver Jalen McCleskey (1.94 yards per route run from the slot). This season White has allowed just 13 receptions on 21 targets for 92 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. His 14.4 coverage snaps per reception allowed ranks fifth in the Big 12 and his 0.49 yards allowed per coverage snap ranks second (among corners with at least 100 coverage snaps).

When West Virginia is on offense:

• With all due respect to West Virginia RB Justin Crawford and his 79.4 rushing grade that ranks fourth in the Big 12, this is QB Will Grier’s team. Grier throws the deep ball (20-plus yards downfield) extremely well and extremely often. Over 25 percent of his attempts are deep throws, and his 986 yards and 12 touchdowns on such throws lead the country.
• WR David Sills has been a revelation for this Mountaineers offense, as his 15 touchdown receptions lead the nation. But WR Gary Jennings shouldn’t be forgotten either. He’s averaging a team-high 2.46 yards per route run and his nine deep receptions for 351 yards are both top-seven marks in the NCAA.
• Look for Cowboys’ safety Tre Flowers to have a busy game as over-the-top help on those deep throws. Flowers hasn’t allowed a touchdown yet this season and has two interceptions and four addition passes defended.

Be sure to sign up for PFF Edge and check out our other featured matchups in Week 9 – including Penn State @ Ohio State, Florida Georgia, NC State @ Notre Dame and UCLA @ Washington, along with much, much more from your PFF Edge subscription.

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