LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas is going through growing pains this year with a pared down roster featuring mostly redshirt and true freshmen.

 

Today, it really showed.

 

West Virginia had a four-touchdown lead after the first quarter and cruised to a 49-0 victory over the severely undermanned Jayhawks here this afternoon at historic Memorial Stadium in Lawrence.

 

It was West Virginia’s first shutout in Big 12 play since joining the conference in 2012.

 

"I am really proud of the guys the way they attacked this week," said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. "Two big wins at home over some quality opponents (Texas Tech and Tech); we put a lot into those games and for them to be able to continue that I was proud of them. We knew what it was going to be like here and obviously it was important for us to rectify what happened two years ago, so a lot of our guys took that to heart, attacked and we looked really good."

 

Immortal football names such as Gale Sayers, Bobby Douglass, John Riggins, Nolan Cromwell and John Hadl adorn the top of the the Memorial Stadium bowl, but nobody closely resembling those players were wearing red jerseys this afternoon.

 

The Mountaineers scored on four of their first six offensive possessions – this coming after Nick O’Toole had to punt into a stiff wind to begin the game.

 

But West Virginia cornerback Terrell Chestnut took care of things immediately, causing a fumble on Tre’ Parmalee’s 23-yard reception that Jarrod Harper recovered at the WVU 37. Five plays later - all runs - West Virginia players were celebrating in the end zone when Rushel Shell bounced in untouched from the eight.

 

Then, on the ensuing possession, Chestnut jumped a Ryan Willis pass toward the short side of the field for an interception that he returned 32 yards for a touchdown.

 

The Mountaineers (6-4, 3-4) added two more first-quarter scores, both on the ground and both coming from their running backs.

 

 

Shell split Kansas’ two safeties for a 26-yard touchdown jaunt and four minutes later, Wendell Smallwood broke three tackles to score from the 24 with 3:26 still remaining in the first stanza.

 

A defensive stop on Kansas’ opening possession of the second quarter gave West Virginia the ball at the 50. A 20-yard Shell run netted only five yards when Gary Jennings was called for a personal foul, but that only delayed the inevitable – another Mountaineer touchdown.

 

On the next play Skyler Howard weaved his way 42 yards like a minivan circling the Mileground roundabout before he was tackled at the KU three. Two plays later, Howard flipped a soft pass to a wide-open Cody Clay in the back of the end zone. That touchdown toss and Josh Lambert’s point-after kick gave WVU a 35-0 lead.

 

It was Howard’s turn to get into the end zone on West Virginia’s ensuing possession, the quarterback going in from the nine with 5:37 to go in the half to expand the Mountaineers’ advantage to 42 points.

 

West Virginia actually left points on the field late in the half when Lambert’s 42-yard field goal try was partially blocked by Brandon Stewart, drawing some applause from the small collection of fans huddled together in the sunshine this afternoon.

 

The Jayhawks’ other opportunity to cheer in the first half happened near the end of the first quarter when Howard’s deep pass down the middle of the field to David Sills got caught up in the wind and fluttered like a wounded duck into the arms of Jayhawk safety Michael Glatczak. He probably should have signaled for fair catch but instead caught the ball and returned 15 yards to the 39.

 

The first half statistics were about as lopsided as a game can be with West Virginia outgaining Kansas, 402-59, including a 295-to-minus-1 advantage on the ground.

 

Kansas had one first down in the first half compared to West Virginia’s 20.

 

In the second half, a flurry of Willis passes midway through the third quarter moved the football to the West Virginia 26, but Larry Hughes was penalized for holding on Willis’ third-down pass to Steven Sims, and then two misfires later, West Virginia took over on downs at its own 36.

 

The only question for press box stat watchers in the second half was whether or not West Virginia was going to have three 100-yard rushers in the same game for the first time in 46 years, the last time happening on September 13, 1969 when Pete Wood (118), Jim Braxton (113) and Bob Gresham (108) surpassed the century mark in a season-opening victory over Cincinnati.

 

Today it happened again with two minutes left in the third quarter on Shell’s 12th carry of the game – a 19-yard run to the Jayhawk 26 – to give him 102 yards. He finished the afternoon with 108 yards on 14 carries.

 

Howard was the first to reach 100 in the second quarter before his day ended in the third quarter with 129 yards on only nine carries. Smallwood reached 100 yards on his 14th rush early in the third quarter (his seventh 100-yard game of the year).

 

It was the fourth known time in school history that WVU has had three 100-yard rushers in the same game. WVU finished with 426 yards rushing and 630 yards of total offense.

 

"Having three 100 yard rushers, that's obviously important to us and defensively, getting turnovers and having another shutout. We did a great job with those guys and got a lot of seniors on that side that it is important to them so I feel like we're in a good place," said Holgorsen.

 

Howard battled the wind to complete 13-of-22 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown in a little more than two quarters of action.

 

Willis had a rough game passing the football for Kansas, the true freshman completing 13 of his 37 pass attempts for 127 yards with two interceptions before giving way to backup T.J. Millweard.

 

He didn’t fare much better, throwing a pass into the end zone that Nana Kyeremeh was able to pick off. But West Virginia backup quarterback William Crest Jr. gave it right back to Kansas when his pass intended for Jennings was intercepted by Derrick Neal at the Jayhawk 15.

 

Today’s victory makes West Virginia bowl eligible for the fourth time in five season under coach Dana Holgorsen.

 

Exactly where the Mountaineers will be going will be determined in the next two weeks when they finish the regular season with games at home against Iowa State on Saturday, November 28, at Milan Puskar Stadium and on the road at Kansas State on Saturday, December 5.

 

"Getting the six wins was important to us, we're bowl eligible, and we can start talking about scenarios now, but still we've got two huge games left that will be important for us to finish strong," noted Holgorsen.

 

Kansas (0-11) wraps up its season next Saturday here in Lawrence against state rival Kansas State.