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Football Friday: Kansas State
September 30, 2016 01:52 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia looks to snap Kansas State’s football mastery in a series that spans six games over 86 years when the Mountaineers and Wildcats meet at Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday to open Big 12 Conference play.
Kansas State has won all four meetings against West Virginia since the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 in 2012, the Wildcats victorious 55-14 in 2012, 35-12 in 2013, 26-20 in 2014 and 24-23 last year.
WVU’s lone victory over Kansas State occurred on November 8, 1930 in Morgantown, 23-7, when K-State was then known as the Kansas Aggies.
This year, veteran coach Bill Snyder has the Wildcats off to a 2-1 start with victories over Florida Atlantic and Missouri State following a season-opening loss to No. 7-ranked Stanford.
West Virginia, meanwhile, is 3-0 for the fourth time under Dana Holgorsen, the Mountaineers having previously done so in 2011, 2012 and 2014.
WVU’s wins this year have come against Missouri, Youngstown State and most recently BYU at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland last Saturday afternoon.
In that game, quarterback Skyler Howard passed for 332 yards and a touchdown and the defense came up with four turnovers, the final one an interception by cornerback Maurice Fleming near BYU’s goal line with a minute left to play and West Virginia clinging to a 35-32 lead.
Saturday’s game is homecoming for West Virginia University and fans are encouraged to “Stripe the Stadium.”
Click the link to see what color you should be wearing in your seating section.
ESPNU will televise the game nationally (Clay Matvik and Dusty Dvoracek) while the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG’s coverage begins at noon with the Go-Mart Mountaineer Tailgate Show leading into regular game coverage at 2:30 on stations throughout West Virginia and online via leanStream and the mobile app TuneIn.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
Here is Saturday’s Countdown to Kickoff:
10 - The Mountaineers rank TENTH in the nation this week in team completion percentage by successfully connecting on 67.3 percent of their pass attempts.
9 - West Virginia has lost just NINE homecoming games at Milan Puskar Stadium since the facility was opened in 1980.
8 - WVU ranks EIGHTH this week in total offense averaging 533 yards per game. West Virginia produced 494 total yards in the season opener against Missouri, 624 yards in game two against Youngstown State and 481 yards last week against BYU.
7 - SEVEN times during Dana Holgorsen’s coaching tenure at West Virginia his teams have scored 50 or more points, the last time coming against Towson on September 6, 2014.
6 - West Virginia produced its SIXTH defensive touchdown since 2014 when cornerback Rasul Douglas returned an interception 54 yards for a touchdown during last Saturday’s 35-32 victory over BYU.
5 - WVU’s top FIVE team passing performances of all-time have come under Dana Holgorsen’s watch: 656 yards vs. Baylor in 2012, 532 yards vs. Arizona in 2016, 511 yards vs. Maryland in 2014, 469 yards vs. UConn in 2011 and 463 yards vs. LSU in 2011.
4 - West Virginia is looking to snap Kansas State’s FOUR-game winning streak since the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 in 2012.
3 - West Virginia has scored most frequently in the THIRD quarter with 34 points. The Mountaineers have scored 24 points in the first and second quarters, and 17 in the fourth quarter.
2 - Wide receivers Daikiel Shorts Jr. and Shelton Gibson lead West Virginia with TWO touchdown receptions each heading into Saturday’s game against Kansas State.
1 - Kansas State ranks FIRST in the country this week in total defense, pass defense, first downs allowed and is tied for first in red zone offense.
Enjoy Saturday’s game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete postgame coverage.
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