Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork. Peter Moylan Jersey .com) - A couple of programs that ended up with disappointing regular-season records clash for the first time ever, as the West Virginia Mountaineers take on the Texas A&M Aggies in the 56th annual Liberty Bowl. The Mountaineers, now members of the Big 12 Conference, were enigmatic at best this season, able to blow away nationally-ranked Baylor at home in the middle of October (41-27), but also capable of breaking hearts after a 31-30 loss to TCU two weeks later, which began a losing streak of three straight for head coach Dana Holgorsen and his crew. The team managed to pull out a 37-24 win over Iowa State on the road in the regular-season finale in order to bolster their prospects for a postseason bid. As for the Aggies, former members of the Big 12 who have since found a home in the SEC, they opened up the 2014 campaign with five straight wins, including what had been at the time, an upset of South Carolina in the opener, 52-28. But like WVU, A&M also struggled along the way, at one point losing three in a row against top-notch competition in Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Alabama, the latter coming by an ugly 59-0 final. The team did manage to bounce back with a 41-38 victory over Auburn on the road in early November, but that was before going down versus Missouri and LSU in the final two outings. Granted, the Aggies had a tougher schedule than the Mountaineers for the most part, not to mention having to deal with injuries and disciplinary issues, yet head coach Kevin Sumlin is still ready to lead his squad into battle. For us as I say every year we look at bowl games the same way, Sumlin says. Its a culmination of our year, and for our seniors its a way for them to leave a legacy of who they are. You like for them to go out on a winning note. Weve always treated the bowl game as the beginning of next season. West Virginia, which saw a run of 11 straight bowl appearances snapped in 2013, has a record of 14-18 in such postseason outings dating back to the 1922 East-West Game. The Mountaineers appeared in this particular contest back in 1964, losing to Utah by a score of 32-6 in Atlantic Citys Convention Hall. WVU has lost three of its last four bowl decisions, including a 38-14 setback versus former Big East Conference foe Syracuse during the 2012 Pinstripe Bowl played in New York City. As for the Aggies, who are hoping to set a new school mark with a victory in a bowl game for the fourth straight year, they took part in this same game back in 1975 but lost to USC, 20-0. Overall, Texas A&M is also under .500 when it comes to bowl competition, sporting a mark of 16-19. The Aggies began their postseason history with a 22-15 win over Centre in the 1922 Dixie Classic, and most recently defeated Duke in a wildly exciting 52-48 decision during last seasons Chick-Fil-a Bowl. One very interesting tie-in between the two programs is when Holgorsen was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Houston in 2008 and 2009, working under the direction of the head coach at the time, who just happened to be Sumlin. The Aggies should have been set for another magical season, but there were some things that needed to be resolved both on and off the field before the team could settle into a rhythm. The squad started off by scoring at least 35 points in each of the first five games, finishing 29th in the nation with an average of 34.4 ppg, but there were also times when the offense didnt show up. Part of the problem for coach Sumlin and his crew was understanding the transition from Johnny Manziel to what should have been his successor, Kenny Hill. Not only did Hill lose the starting job to Kyle Allen in late October, he was also suspended for two games for a violation of team rules, leaving his understudy to take over the offense. Allen has completed 61.1 percent of his passes for 12 touchdowns and six interceptions in eight appearances on the campaign. The overall numbers of the quarterback position look a lot stronger when Hills stats are entered into the equation, the team finishing 12th in the country with 306.4 ypg through the air. No matter who was handling the ball under center, the top threat down the field was still Josh Reynolds who turned his 47 catches into 762 yards and 12 touchdowns. There were four others with at least 30 receptions (Ricky Seals- Jones, Malcome Kennedy, Speedy Noil and Edward Pope), who combined to account for another 17 TDs through the air as well. On the ground, the team relied on Trey Williams and Tra Carson, although each missed a game, as they produced a combined 922 yards and 11 TDs. Over on the defensive side of the ball, the Aggies were shaky at best as they placed 102nd nationally with 449.0 ypg allowed. Stopping the run proved especially troublesome for the group as they gave up 223.5 ypg, a number that ranked them 112th. Holding teams scoreless in the red zone was not a strong suit of the unit whatsoever, as it permitted foes to put points on the board 87.2 percent of the time, something that will certainly hamper the squad if the WVU offense finds its rhythm in this meeting. Myles Garrett caused a good bit of disruption during his time on the field this season, posting 12.5 of his 50 overall tackles in the backfield, including a team-best 11 sacks. Garrett also registered one of the teams three blocked kicks. While the Aggies appear to have figured out their quarterback situation, the same cannot be said for West Virginia currently, but that might be good news actually. Clint Trickett, a transfer from Florida State who raised more than a few eyebrows during the first half of the campaign by throwing for at least 300 yards in seven straight games, eight overall if you go back to last season, slowed a bit against tougher competition and then suffered a concussion against Kansas State and missed the finale versus Iowa State. Skyler Howard assumed control of the offense and led the team to a victory over the Cyclones. Trickett was not cleared physically and has since decided to retire from football, leaving the job to Howard in this game. Unfortunately were going to be without the services of Clint (Trickett), said Holgorsen. He did not get cleared so were going to be without him. Skyler (Howard) will be our starter. Kevin White was by far the favorite target downfield with a staggering 102 catches for 1,318 yards and nine touchdowns, yet it was Mario Alford (62 rec. for 888 yard) who led the team with 10 aerial scores. Expect Howard to rely on his dynamic duo in this game. West Virginia was ninth in the country in passing offense with 314.6 ypg and also put together a solid rushing attack (187.5 ypg) thanks to the efforts of Rushel Shell and Wendell Smallwood, who combined for more than 1,400 yards and nine TDs. On paper the Mountaineers were decent on defense, giving up 388.6 ypg, although it often felt as though the team was being abused far more than that by accomplished offenses. The squad managed to limit foes to just 30.9 percent success on third down and 28.6 percent on fourth down, ranking it in the top-10 in both categories. However, if there was one area that should still be of great concern to WVU it would be turnovers, as the team ranks 120th in the FBS with a minus-1.25 miscues per contest. 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