Coming off their second straight loss, this time to Texas Tech, the West Virginia Mountaineers go on the road to take on a tough Kansas State Wildcat team. If they cannot win on Saturday then their chances of making a bowl game will be slowly slipping away.
Quarterback Clint Trickett, played the whole game last week after taking a few series off against Baylor due to an injury. Trickett will continue to play quarterback for the Mountaineers this season especially now that Ford Childress is done for the year with a pectoral injury. Against Texas Tech, Trickett threw for 254 yards and one touchdown. He may have a little easier time this week since the Wildcats’ defense is currently allowing 224.3 yards per game to opposing quarterbacks. Trickett threw the long ball a few times against Texas Tech to little or no avail, but now he has a better chance of completing the pass and allowing his receivers to make big plays.
A few wide receivers stepped their game up and helped out Trickett in a big way against
Texas Tech. Daikiel Shorts and Kevin White had nearly identical stats, except Shorts had four more receptions and one more receiving yard than White. White was more effective with the deep ball, with his longest catch being 40 yards. He averaged 15.4 yards a catch, which definitely helped West Virginia move the ball. If both these guys can have repeat performances this week as well as some touchdowns, then Kansas State could be in trouble.
The lone Mountaineer to score a touchdown against Texas Tech wasn't even a receiver, but running back Charles Sims. To go along with his touchdown he had 32 yards receiving on seven catches. Sims has been very effective in the passing game and a few times this season he has been the top receiver for the Mountaineers. While some may say this is a good thing, it is quite the opposite, since it shows how ineffective the actual receivers are and suggests they don’t know how to get open. Currently Kansas State is allowing just over 11 yards per catch, so if West Virginia can exploit this then it could be a long day for the Wildcat secondary.
The running game finally got going last week, with Dreamius Smith leading the way with 89 yards on sixteen carries and two touchdowns. Smith was the lead back last week and it will be interesting to see if they use him like this again this week. That being said Sims only had one less carry and had 77 yards on the ground. He was still very effective though both on the ground and through the air, as mentioned before. If West Virginia can use these two effectively against the Wildcats, then after a while the defense should break down and open up the passing game as well as play-action passes. The running backs may have a little easier time this week since Kansas State’s rush defense is allowing just over 156 yards per game to opposing running backs and they have given up 10 total touchdowns to them. So the Mountaineers’ running game may be able to edge them out in that category.
The West Virginia secondary seemed to revert back to their old ways, allowing Texas Tech's quarterback, Davis Webb to throw for over 400 yards. This simply will not fly this week since Kansas State can easily throw for over 200 yards. If the secondary plays like they did last week, then quarterback Jake Waters will have a field day. While the defense wasn’t able to snag an interception last week, their chances are much better this week since Waters has thrown five already. Even the other quarterback they use, Daniel Sams has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns this year. If West Virginia can exploit this weakness then it could be a long day for both quarterbacks.
The one player the defense must shut down is back up QB Sams. He is effective in both the passing and running games. So far this season, Sams has rushed for 522 yards on 86 carries and seven touchdowns. The Mountaineers have had some trouble containing mobile quarterbacks and if they can’t limit him, then this game could be over before it even starts. Passing wise, Sams has had his struggles and if the Mountaineers can give him problems in that respect then they might be able to get in his head and give him problems in the running game as well.
This is by no means an easy game for West Virginia. Kansas State seems much more complete and can easily come back from a deficit. They are also coming off a bye week so they are well rested and well prepared for this game. If the Mountaineers want to win this game then the secondary has to play much better than they did last week and they have to be able to slow down Sams when he takes off. Assuming West Virginia’s defense can do these two things, then there is a better chance that West Virginia could win this game. It is interesting to note that both of these teams are at the bottom of the barrel in the Big 12, and both are vying for a bowl game.
Prediction: Kansas State-37 WVU-30
WVU Player of the Game: Charles Sims 21 carries 112 yards 2 TDs
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