LAWRENCE, Kan. – By the numbers, West Virginia should not have beaten Kansas on Saturday.
The Jayhawks averaged 7.4 yards per play on offense, while the Mountaineers averaged 4.6 per play. This season, teams who average better than 7 yards per play are 72-2 against teams averaging fewer than 5 yards per play.
So how did West Virginia do it?
The blueprint is similar to the one Iowa used against Iowa State in the only other instance of a team winning in this scenario this season – dominating time of possession. West Virginia maintained a 15-minute edge in possession against Kansas, showing that sometimes the best defense is your own offense.