Saturday, November 14 · 5:30 p.m. ET · Milan Puskar Stadium · ESPNU
Kansas Comes to Morgantown. Can WVU Finish This One?
Cam Cook and Michael Hawkins Jr. give West Virginia a way to control the game. Keeping Isaiah Marshall from extending drives could decide whether the Mountaineers get their sixth win.
West Virginia scored 48 points at Texas Tech and still spent the last minutes of the game chasing the lead. A 21-point third quarter had put the Mountaineers ahead 48–41, but they went scoreless in the fourth and lost 53–48. With Kansas coming to Morgantown on Saturday, the question is whether WVU can get the stop and put together the drive it needed in Lubbock.
The Mountaineers (5–4, 2–4 Big 12) can get to six wins at home. Kansas (3–6, 1–5) has its own reason to think a close game will go differently this week. The Jayhawks lost 33–32 to UCF, even with Isaiah Marshall throwing for 210 yards and running for 125 and two touchdowns. His ability to turn a third-down scramble into a fresh set of downs is the matchup I’d watch first.
Make Kansas defend both runners
West Virginia averages 263.6 rushing yards per game. Cam Cook has 1,072 on the season, and Hawkins has another 924. Against Texas Tech, Cook ran for 149 while Hawkins threw for 303. Rich Rodriguez can lean on Cook between the tackles and make the edge defender account for Hawkins on the same play. That’s a good way to dictate the terms against a Kansas defense that gives up just 186 passing yards a game.
The danger comes when an early loss turns second down into a predictable passing situation. Kansas defensive end Leroy Harris III had three sacks against UCF and has 6.5 this season. Linebacker Trey Lathan has 62 tackles and two interceptions. If Cook is getting four or five yards on first down, WVU can use play-action on its own terms and make Harris hesitate before he rushes.
Win the down after the first stop
Kansas averages about 201 rushing yards per game, with Dylan Edwards leading the team at 595 and Marshall adding 528. West Virginia is allowing 322.8 passing yards and 34.6 points per game. That combination gives Kansas options. If the Mountaineers bring an extra defender into the box, Marshall can throw behind him. If the rush loses its lanes, he can take the yards himself.
Watch what happens when WVU gets Kansas into third-and-six. An edge rusher taking a wide path to Marshall can leave him an alley to step through. Keep him in the pocket, tackle the underneath receiver short of the sticks and make Kansas punt. Do that a couple of times after halftime and Cook gets the ball back with a chance to shorten the game.
Prediction · West Virginia 38, Kansas 34
I expect Kansas to move the ball well enough to make the fourth quarter uncomfortable. At home, I give Cook and Hawkins the edge on the drive that matters. My pick is WVU by four, with the Mountaineers getting a late stop and then picking up the first down that lets them keep the ball. A sixth win would feel especially good if it comes that way.