After suffering a very disappointing loss to Texas Tech and falling deep in the rankings, the Mountaineers will try to get back on top this week. However, this will be no easy task as they face the 4th ranked Kansas State Wildcats.
Last week, Geno Smith got a reality check as he finally showed that he is human. Smith threw for 275 yards and only one touchdown. His accuracy was also off and he barely completed fifty percent of his passes. Smith will have his work cut out for him once again
since the Wildcats’ defense is allowing about 239 yards a game and they have only given up six passing touchdowns this year. Smith and the offense only converted twice on seven attempts when it came to fourth down after going a perfect five for five against Texas. Dana Holgorsen might want to play it safe this week and just punt when it is fourth and long.
When Smith was throwing passes that were pretty accurate the wide receivers came up empty again and again. They dropped countless passes that would have given West Virginia first downs and the score would have been a lot closer. The top receiver for this game was Tavon Austin who had nine catches for 99 yards. Austin had many looks his way and they either bounced off his hands or he was dropped for short yardage.
Some good news for Smith is that he did not drop from the number one spot on the Heisman watch list and if he wants to stay there he will have to play a lot harder this week. Other good news for Smith is that he has still not thrown an interception yet this year, but his luck may have finally run out. Kansas State’s defense has picked off opposing quarterbacks six times this year.
Stedman Bailey was the only receiver who caught a touchdown and he had 56 yards receiving. Bailey sat out for a majority of the second half with what looked like a leg injury. However, it looked like it was more of a shoulder injury after seeing him in class on Monday. It will be interesting to see how that injury affects him this week. J.D. Woods was the second best receiver of the game last week hauling in seven catches for 79 yards. He too had a ton of dropped passes and a few of them could have gone for touchdowns. Finally, this is the first game all year that no receiver amassed 100 receiving yards.
Two weeks ago against Texas, West Virginia ran the ball successfully against their defense. That’s what many thought they would do against Texas Tech, but that was easier said in done. Featured back Andrew Buie had 71 yards on 21 carries, a drastic drop from the week before. Dustin Garrison found a little more success on the ground rushing for 42 yards on 9 carries. While the yardage was less than Buie’s, Garrison did have a touchdown compared to none by Buie.
With both these backs putting up less than impressive numbers, West Virginia migh want to consider using both of them this week to keep Kansas State's defense off balance. The simplest answer for this is that the offensive line struggled all game long and they just couldn’t make any holes for the backs to run through. The Red Raiders defensive linemen continued to get penetration and bring down the backs for negative yardage. If the Mountaineer offensive line has problems creating holes and stopping the defensive line from getting into the backfield then it will be a long day for them against Kansas State’s defense. Currently the Kansas State defense is allowing 101 rushing yards a game, and only five touchdowns. Both these running backs will have to bring their A game if they want to break down this tough defense.
While the offense struggled to get touchdowns, the defense had problems of its own. Once again the secondary proved to be the biggest thorn in the side of the defense. They allowed six passing touchdowns and just over 500 yards receiving. The secondary gave up one touchdown and 156 yards to Texas Tech’s tight end. If they can give up this much to a big tight end, just imagine what they can give up against a speedy Kansas State receiver. The one good thing the secondary did was intercept one pass, although that didn’t amount to anything. The Mountaineers’ defensive line had some problems as well; they allowed 168 rushing yards and one touchdown. They have got to close up holes and get penetration to drop the running backs in the backfield. If the defense plays like they did against Texas Tech then there is no way they can win against Kansas State this week or any team down the road. At the end of the season the team might also want to reconsider the future of defensive coordinator Joe DeForest. DeForest brought a whole new scheme to the defensive this year and so far it hasn’t worked up to expectations. If the defense continues to struggle like it has then West Virginia might want to part ways with DeForest.
One player the Mountaineer defense has to shutdown is quarterback Colin Klein. Klein is a threat to run the ball as well as throw the ball. Klein has rushed for 510 yards on 98 attempts and he has scored ten touchdowns. When it comes to throwing, he has racked up 1,078 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. While he has those two interceptions, the defense will have to work especially hard to make him throw even one away. Even when the defense applies pressure, Klein can turn a negative play into a positive play. Klein is number three on the Heisman watch list and if he can have a big game against a very slack defense, then he might be moving up.
The Mountaineers' special teams was busy at work last week with the offense struggling. Punter Corey Smith kicked four balls down the field for a total of 155 yards. On Saturday, Holgorsen might want to consider punting more than going for it on fourth down. Tavon Austin had a one kick return for 47 yards and it should be assumed that Kansas State will kick away from him to avoid big return yards or a touchdown.
This is a huge game for both the Mountaineers and Wildcats. The Mountaineers need this win to move back into the top ten in the AP Poll and the Wildcats need to continue their dominance in the Big 12. If West Virginia can get their act together on offense and defense then they just might be able to pull off the upset against Kansas State. However, it does not seem likely. Kickoff is set for 7 PM and can be seen on Fox.
Prediction: WVU-42 Kansas State-50
WVU Player of the Game: Geno Smith 35/50 375 yards 4TDs 2INTs
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