The Big 12 season is starting with both the Kansas Jayhawks and West Virginia in desperate need of a win to change the course of their season. And for KU to make that happen, the Jayhawks will have to do it on the road in a hostile environment.
Opponent Overview
Team: West Virginia
Record: 1-2
Line: WVU -2.5
Team Form
Like Kansas, West Virginia’s only win so far this season has come against a non-FBS team. The Mountaineers beat Albany in week two 49-14. Both the other two losses are completely reasonable. WVU fell in week one to top-10 team Penn State in a game that wasn’t as competitive as the Mountaineers would have wanted (the final score was 34-12) but an outcome that’s understandable. Then, West Virginia went on the road to face its rival Pitt, which is now undefeated. WVU only lost by four, but this one was painful considering the Mountaineers were up 10 with 4:55 to play.
Players to Watch
Like KU and its last few opponents, the core of the WVU offense is the rushing attack. CJ Donaldson is ninth in the conference with 246 rushing yards, while Jahiem White provides a nice 1-2 punch with 179 yards of his own. Between them and quarterback Garrett Greene using his legs for 122 yards, the Mountaineers have averaged 192.7 yards per game on the ground.
Greene is in his fifth year at West Virginia and is off to a solid start with a completion percentage of 59% and five touchdowns to two picks in three games. A credit of the West Virginia offense is how well Greene has been spreading the ball around to his receivers. Four receivers have at least six catches and 80 yards on the season so far, led by Kole Taylor. But also watch out for Oklahoma State transfer Jaden Bray. He only has two receptions on the season but both have gone for 44 yards.
Matchups to Watch
The Kansas front seven has another big test coming up after it has succeeded the last two weeks against dangerous ground attacks. The Jayhawks are only giving up 111.7 rushing yards per game. It’s likely to go up in Big 12 play, given the talent at running back across the league, but that’s still a 50-yard improvement from last year’s rush defense.
But the other aspect of the defense I’m watching is which one can force turnovers. WVU doesn’t have a single interception on the year and has only recovered one fumble, having lost the turnover battle in all three games it has played. Meanwhile, as good as KU’s defense has been at keeping opponents out of the end zone, the Jayhawks only have one pick and one fumble recovery on the year.
Prediction
Can Jalon Daniels and the Kansas offense take care of the ball? Because if so, this is a favorable matchup to get a win. West Virginia is giving up 400 yards per game on defense, and even Albany wracked up 374 yards, including 306 through the air. Both power-five teams WVU played completed at least 66% of their passes and every opponent so far has thrown for at least 235 yards. The Mountaineers can get got in the passing attack, KU just has to capitalize.
On the other side, I’m not too worried about the Kansas defense. KU has proven it can hold strong against the run, especially in the first half, and Greene is not the same level of scrambler as Kansas faced with Altmyer or Sluka the past two weeks. But if the defense could create some turnovers to help the offense out, that would be huge.
Eventually we have to see it with the offense putting everything together, and the vibes from the quotes we heard this week haven’t been great. But UNLV and Illinois’ defenses are much better than WVU so far, so maybe this is the game where Daniels can get some confidence back.
Kansas 34, West Virginia 28
Record ATS: 0-2-1
Record Straight Up: 1-2
(Last week: UNLV 23, Kansas 20)
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