The noise in Morgantown is deafening.
West Virginia fans are upset with a 3-3 start from a team that entered the season with so much promise. They’re venting their frustrations on social media, and simple comments from the coaches are being transformed into major national stories.
The best way to dam the river of negativity is to post a win on Saturday, but that won’t be easy. Schedule strength has been a key factor in West Virginia’s 3-3 start — every team to which WVU has fallen is ranked, and they are a combined 18-0 — but it doesn’t get much easier this week.
Next up is No. 17 Kansas State (5-1, 2-1 Big 12), which will come to Milan Puskar Stadium for a second straight night game, this one scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. and be televised by Fox.
So, what will it take for the Mountaineers (3-3, 2-1) to pull off the upset and finally beat one of these ranked foes?
2023
Coming off a 10-4 season that included a Big 12 championship and a Sugar Bowl appearance, big things were predicted for K-State in ’23.
For the most part, it delivered. No, the Wildcats didn’t make it back to the Big 12 championship game, but they did win eight games in the regular season, including a win over rival Kansas late in the year.
K-State lost to Iowa State, Texas, Oklahoma State and Missouri to finish 8-4 and earn a spot in the Pop-Tarts Bowl against N.C. State. A 28-19 victory gave Chris Klieman’s group its ninth win, and it ended the season ranked No. 18.
This season
Now in his sixth season, Klieman has been the model of consistency since leaving North Dakota State for Manhattan, Kansas. Aside from a 4-6 finish during the COVID-19 season in 2020, Klieman has finished somewhere between 8-5 and 10-4 every year with K-State, and 2024 is shaping up to be much the same.
After opening up with wins over UT Martin (41-6) and Tulane (34-27), the Wildcats turned some heads with a 31-7 beatdown of No. 20 Arizona. That got them all the way to No. 13 in the national polls, but a 38-9 loss at BYU brought them back to reality.
The last two times out, Klieman’s crew has taken down Oklahoma State (42-20) and Colorado (31-28), and it will come to Morgantown with a 5-1 record and a No. 17 ranking beside its name.
Offense
If fans thought losing quarterback Will Howard to Ohio State would slow down the K-State offense, they clearly hadn’t paid much attention to Avery Johnson (6-2, 192 pounds). The sophomore signal-caller was likely ready to take the job, no matter who was in front of him.
The highly touted recruit out of Wichita, Kansas, has now started seven games for the Wildcats and is 6-1 in those contests.
This season, he’s one of just 11 quarterbacks around the nation, and the only one in the Big 12, who has passed for at least 1,100 yards and rushed for at least 300. In total, he’s thrown for 1,103 yards and 11 touchdowns, while rushing for 306 more and three scores.
Perhaps the only real concern is the five interceptions he’s tossed, including four in the last three games.
Although he’s capable, Johnson doesn’t have to do it all. First-year offensive coordinator Matt Wells, the former Texas Tech coach, also relies heavily on a rushing attack that is among the nation’s best. The Wildcats are averaging 241 yards per game on the ground, good enough for eighth in the FBS ranks, and their 6.43 yards per carry ranks third in the country.
Junior D.J. Giddens (6-1, 212) leads the way. The Junction City, Kansas, native tops the Big 12 with 786 rushing yards, and his 131 yards per game ranks fourth nationally. Giddens has averaged 7.28 yards per carry, also fourth nationally, and he’s pulled in 10 receptions for 129 yards, proving his worth in the passing game.
Freshman Joe Jackson (6-0, 203) and sophomore Dylan Edwards (5-9, 167) could also get some carries.
Fort Walton Beach, Florida, product Jayce Brown (6-0, 179) is the leader of the receiving corps. The sophomore has caught 23 passes for 398 yards and three touchdowns this season. He’s far and away K-State’s leading pass-catcher, with Keagan Johnson next on the list with 14 catches. Johnson (6-0, 206) is a junior who transferred from Iowa prior to the 2021 season and has had a productive career with the Wildcats, but he’s been banged up in recent games and his production could be limited.
Up front, K-State starts four seniors, led by left guard Hadley Panzer (6-4, 305), who has started 32 straight games. Easton Kilty (6-6, 307), the left tackle, is a North Dakota State transfer, while right tackle Carver Willis (6-5, 291) has started 13 games over the last two seasons.
Right guard Taylor Poitier (6-3, 305) has split time the last couple of campaigns, including this one, with junior Andrew Leingang (6-6, 306) seeing some action. The youngest of the group is the man in the middle, junior center Sam Hecht (6-4, 287), who is in his first season as a starter.
The Wildcats’ attack on offense isn’t tricky. They love to pound the football, take a few shots deep and let Johnson make a play when he gets in trouble. And when they get the ball into scoring position, they take full advantage, with 20 scores on 21 red-zone attempts.
Defense
The philosophy on the other side for sixth-year defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman is to keep teams from doing what K-State does to them.
The Wildcats are stingy against the run, allowing just 71.7 yards per game on the ground, second in the country. Last week, K-State held Colorado to minus-29 yards on the ground, thanks in large part to 74 sack yards.
When teams do drive the field, K-State usually buckles down. It has given up a touchdown on just eight of 18 opponent trips into the red zone this season. Since switching to a 3-3-5 attack in 2021, the Wildcats have given up just 21.3 points per contest.
Seven K-State players have at least 20 tackles this season, led by sophomore middle linebacker Austin Romaine (6-2, 224) with 39. The Missouri native also has four tackles for loss, but the top honor in that category goes to senior defensive end Brendan Mott (6-5, 244). The former walk-on from Iowa City has eight tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks to his credit this season.
Sophomore defensive end Travis Bates (6-3, 265) transferred from Austin Peay, while senior D-lineman Cody Stufflebean (6-4, 257) is a Kansas native.
Junior linebacker Desmond Purnell (6-0, 236) was an All-Big 12 honorable mention pick last year, and senior Austin Moore (6-1, 220), the other outside linebacker, was a second-team selection.
Senior corner Keenan Garber (6-0, 188) had an interception in the end zone against Arizona earlier this season and returned a pick 45 yards for a touchdown last year against Baylor. Junior Jacob Parrish (5-10, 198), who starts at the other corner spot, was an All-Big 12 honorable mention pick as a sophomore.
The safeties are key in Klanderman’s attack, and K-State has some good ones.
Junior VJ Payne (6-3, 211) has started each of the last 22 games and had a game-sealing interception against Tulane, one of two picks this season. Senior Jordan Riley (6-0, 202), a Ball State transfer, was an All-MAC selection last year and leads K-State this season with three pass breakups. Senior Marques Sigle (6-0, 197) has performed well since coming from North Dakota State prior to the 2023 season.
If there’s an area to attack, it’s certainly through the air. K-State is allowing 268.2 passing yards per game, the second-biggest number in the Big 12. It’s ranked 15th out of 16 conference teams in defensive efficiency, ahead of only the Mountaineers.
Special teams
Senior Chris Tennant (6-5, 226) has connected on 9 of 11 field goal attempts, only missing from 48 and 53 yards. Freshman punter Simon McClannan (5-11, 190) is averaging 42.3 yards per punt and has pinned eight inside the 20-yard line through six games.
Edwards, a Colorado transfer, ranks sixth nationally with a 16.6-yard punt return average, including a 71-yarder against Arizona.
History
The series between WVU and K-State dates to 1930 and has been a tight one. Somehow, the Mountaineers persuaded the Wildcats to make the long trip to Morgantown in back-to-back seasons in 1930 and 1931, and the teams split the two meetings at Old Mountaineer Field. Perhaps realizing the trip was not an easy one, K-State took a break for the next 81 years before finally returning to Morgantown when the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 in 2012.
K-State dominated that inaugural Big 12 meeting, winning 55-14, and it won the first four conference showdowns with WVU, before the Mountaineers finally claimed a 17-16 victory in 2016.
It was West Virginia’s turn to go on a run, and it won five in a row from 2016 through 2020. Kansas State broke the streak with a 34-17 win at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in 2021 and followed up with a 48-31 victory in Morgantown a year later. That was the most recent meeting, as the teams did not play last season.
Overall, K-State holds a 7-6 advantage in the series. In Morgantown, the series is even at 4-4.
