MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Ninth-ranked West Virginia is putting its unbeaten record on the line today when it meets Kansas in a homecoming game at Milan Puskar Stadium.
 
It's the third time the Jayhawks have been in Morgantown for homecoming, the prior two coming in 1941 (a 21-0 WVU victory) and in 2014 (a 33 -14 Mountaineer win).
 
"I'm looking forward to this weekend," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. "It's another home game here and it should be another good crowd. We have a Gold Rush, so we'll be in all gold, and we're looking to get better."
 
West Virginia (4-0, 2-0) is facing an improving Jayhawks team that already shows wins this year against Central Michigan and Rutgers after beginning the season with a surprising, 26-23 overtime loss to Nicholls.
 
Kansas (2-3, 0-2) has some offensive weapons the Mountaineers will have to contend with on Saturday. True freshman tailback Pooka Williams has unseated Khalil Herbert as the starter and comes into Saturday's game leading the Big 12 in rushing with an average of 118.5 yards per game.
 
He ran for a season-high 163 yards in the Rutgers win and also topped 100 yards against Central Michigan.
 
"He has lightning-quick speed, and he starts, stops, and he's a dynamic player," Holgorsen said. "And they move him all over the place. It's rare for a true freshman to have the production that he's had at this point. He's a really good player that we're going to have to keep under wraps."
 
Leading receiver Steven Sims Jr. has given West Virginia issues in the past, catching six passes for 96 yards in last year's game and grabbing nine for 124 yards two years ago in Morgantown.
 
This year he shows 23 catches for 217 yards and two touchdowns and is coming off a season-high 10 catches for 89 yards in last week's loss to Oklahoma State.
 
"Sims is the guy, No. 11, that has really given us problems over the last couple of years," Holgorsen said. "He's a really good player.
 
Sims is now third in KU history in receptions (184), tied for third with Willie Vaughn and Bruce Adams in touchdown catches (17) and fourth in receiving yardage (2,164).
 
Throwing the football to him will be junior Carter Stanley, announced as the Saturday starter earlier this week. Stanley took all of the snaps behind center last week and completed 24-of-32 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns in Kansas' 48-28 loss to Oklahoma State.
 
Before that, he shared time with last year's starter Peyton Bender, who is completing 59.6 percent of his passes for 490 yards and four touchdowns.
 
Amazingly, all three quarterback who have played, including sophomore Miles Kendrick, have yet to throw an interception this season.
 
"I don't know that I've ever seen a team that has played three quarterbacks and hasn't thrown a pick," Holgorsen mentioned.
 
Defensively, senior linebacker Joe Dineen Jr. is a familiar name to Mountaineer fans, and he leads Kansas in tackles with 63. He also shows 3 ½ tackles for losses and an interception.
 
Kansas has lost all four times it has played in Morgantown and trails the all-time series 6-1. The Jayhawks' lone victory over West Virginia came in 2013, 31-19 in Lawrence.
 
Saturday's game will kick off at noon ET and will be televised nationally on ESPN2 (Anish Shroff, Ahmad Brooks and Roddy Jones).
 
The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG's pregame coverage begins with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show (Dan Zangrilli, Dale Wolfley and Jed Drenning) at 8:30 a.m. leading into regular game coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Drenning at 11 a.m. on affiliates throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the mobile app TuneIn.
 
Here is today's Countdown to Kickoff:
 
10 – Senior Gary Jennings Jr. has moved into TENTH place in WVU career receptions with 136 heading into today's game.
 
9 – The Mountaineer defense had NINE tackles for a loss by six different players in last Saturday's 42-34 victory at Texas Tech. West Virginia has 40 tackles for losses in four games so far this year to rank third nationally.
 
8 – EIGHT different players have carried the football so far this year for West Virginia with the bulk of the carries coming from Leddie Brown (40), Kennedy McKoy (38) and Martell Pettaway (33).
 
7 – The Mountaineers have won at home SEVEN times during the month of October under Dana Holgorsen for a 7-4 October home mark.
 
6 – Since 2015, West Virginia has had SIX multiple 100-yard receivers in single game including once this year against Tennessee when David Sills V (7/140/2) and Gary Jennings Jr. (6/113/1) topped the century mark.
 
5 – Today's game will be Kansas' FIFTH trip to Morgantown. The Jayhawks have lost all four times here.
 
4 – Quarterback Will Grier accounted for FOUR touchdowns in last year's 56-34 win at Kansas. He had two rushing and two passing.
 
3 – With a victory today, coach Dana Holgorsen will move into a tie with Art Lewis for THIRD place in all-time wins at WVU with 58. Holgorsen needs three wins to tie Rich Rodriguez for second place with 60.
 
2 – West Virginia has won its first TWO Big 12 games to begin the season for the first time since 2016 when the Mountaineers won their first three before falling at Oklahoma State 37-20.
 
1 – The Mountaineers rank FIRST in the Big 12 and fourth nationally on third down this week by converting 59 percent of their third-down tries. 
 
Enjoy today's game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete postgame coverage.