Photo by: Caleb Saunders
Countdown to Kickoff – Kansas State
October 31, 2020 09:00 AM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – No. 16 Kansas State rolls into Morgantown today with lots of momentum following its dominant 55-14 victory over rival Kansas last Saturday.
An interception and two punt returns accounted for 21 points in an impressive, all-around performance.
Second-year coach Chris Klieman's team is built around a defense led by junior defensive end Wyatt Hubert, who ranks seventh nationally among active players averaging a half-sack per game for his career.
Hubert was the first Kansas State player Neal Brown mentioned during his weekly Tuesday afternoon news conference.
"Hubert is special," Brown said, adding, "they've got a couple of other kids at the end spot that can really rush the passer."
Kansas State (4-1) leads the Big 12 with seven interceptions – some of those a result of pressure on the quarterback.
"They are primarily a zone team and they get a lot of eyes on the quarterback," Brown explained. "What happens is a lot of those are forced interceptions. What I mean by that is they do a great job of getting pressure on the quarterback with a four-man rush. They are as talented as anyone in our league at defensive end."
That means West Virginia will either have to keep an extra player in to help protect quarterback Jarret Doege, giving Doege one or two less options throwing into a seven-man coverage, or take its chances getting the ball off before pressure gets to him.
Offensively, K-State has found some creative ways to get the football to Darren Sproles-clone Deuce Vaughn, who ranks 13th nationally averaging 133.8 yards per scrimmage. The freshman leads the country averaging 27.7 yards per catch, and he's actually got more yards receiving (360) than rushing (309).
Brown said West Virginia is going to have to play close attention to where Vaughn is at all times.
"They've done a great job with him," Brown said. "He's an issue, and we're going to have to ID him wherever he is on the field."
A season-ending injury to quarterback Skylar Thompson has forced Kansas State to go with true freshman Will Howard, a 6-foot-4, 230-pounder from Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
Howard became the first freshman quarterback in Kansas State history to win a road game three weeks ago at TCU, and he is coming off his best passing performance of the season against Kansas when he completed 17-of-24 aerials for 243 yards and two touchdowns.
He also had an 80-yard run in the TCU win, which gets your attention.
"He has made two or three difficult passes each game he's played for explosive plays," Brown added.
Northern Iowa tight end transfer Briley Moore has been a weapon in the passing game, the senior catching 17 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns so far this year. He shows 102 catches for 1,350 yards and eight touchdowns during his college career.
"He's a guy that does a nice job in the run game, but they find ways to get him the ball," Brown said.
West Virginia (3-2) has had a statistical advantage in all five games it has played so far this year, three of those being victories against Eastern Kentucky, Baylor and Kansas.
In its Big 12 road losses at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, the Mountaineers also outgained their opposition by a 353-to-342 advantage (Oklahoma State) and 438-to-348 (Texas Tech).
Quarterback Jarret Doege is coming off the best passing performance of his career against the Red Raiders, the Lubbock resident completing 32-of-50 for 347 yards and a touchdown.
After five games, sophomore slot receiver Winston Wright Jr. has emerged as West Virginia's go-to pass catcher. He caught a season-best nine passes for 126 yards against Texas Tech and also had a 100-yard receiving performance at Oklahoma State in late September.
The Savannah, Georgia, resident shows 28 receptions for 360 yards and a touchdown.
Junior running back Leddie Brown got into the end zone twice at Texas Tech, but the Red Raiders did a pretty good job of bottling him up. Brown managed 77 yards on 21 carries after generating a career-high 195 yards in the Kansas win.
He comes into today's game averaging 118.4 yards per contest on the ground.
Senior linebacker Tony Fields II continues to lead the WVU defense with 38 tackles, although he missed most of last Saturday's Texas Tech game after being ejected for targeting.
Linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo shows 37 tackles while true freshman defensive end Akheem Mesidor leads an active front with four sacks. Eight different Mountaineer defenders have gotten to the quarterback so far this season.
Today's Halloween-day game will kick off at noon and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
The Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College radio coverage begins at 8:30 a.m. with the Go-Mart Mountaineer Tailgate Show on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular mobile app WVU Gameday.
Regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning will get underway at 11 a.m.
Last year, West Virginia upset 24th-ranked Kansas State 24-20 in Manhattan, Kansas. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the stadium.
"Whatever the number is we can get in the stadium I hope we get that," Brown said. "We are really going to need our fanbase. Kansas State is a Top 25 team, so I think it's a critical matchup in our season and I look forward to our guys responding in the right way and playing better this week."
Here is today's Countdown to Kickoff, presented by WVU Medicine:
10 –Entering today's game, the Mountaineers have just 11 players that have started TEN games or more during their career. Senior linebacker Dylan Tonkery leads the way with 28 career starts.
9 – Quarterback Jarret Doege ranks NINTH nationally this week, averaging 25.4 receptions per game.
8 – EIGHT wide receivers were utilized in last Saturday's game at Texas Tech.
7 – The Mountaineer defense ranks SEVENTH nationally this week, averaging 3.6 sacks per game. Eight different defenders have gotten to the quarterback so far this season.
6 – West Virginia has played SIX times at home on Oct. 31, and the Mountaineers own a 4-2 record on this date.
5 – Each team has won FIVE games in a series that dates back to 1930. West Virginia has won four in a row.
4 – The Mountaineer offense has generated FOUR scoring plays from scrimmage covering 32 yards or longer. Leddie Brown's 87-yard touchdown run against Kansas is WVU's longest play from scrimmage so far this season.
3 –West Virginia's defense has allowed just THREE sustained drives of 10 plays or more this year – all three coming in road losses at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
2 – Running back Leddie Brown got into the end zone TWICE during last Saturday's loss at Texas Tech, and he currently ranks fourth nationally in total touchdowns with nine.
1 – Doege has completed at least ONE touchdown pass in 25 straight games dating back to his time at Bowling Green – the longest active streak among FBS players.
Enjoy today's game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete postgame coverage.
An interception and two punt returns accounted for 21 points in an impressive, all-around performance.
Second-year coach Chris Klieman's team is built around a defense led by junior defensive end Wyatt Hubert, who ranks seventh nationally among active players averaging a half-sack per game for his career.
Hubert was the first Kansas State player Neal Brown mentioned during his weekly Tuesday afternoon news conference.
"Hubert is special," Brown said, adding, "they've got a couple of other kids at the end spot that can really rush the passer."
Kansas State (4-1) leads the Big 12 with seven interceptions – some of those a result of pressure on the quarterback.
"They are primarily a zone team and they get a lot of eyes on the quarterback," Brown explained. "What happens is a lot of those are forced interceptions. What I mean by that is they do a great job of getting pressure on the quarterback with a four-man rush. They are as talented as anyone in our league at defensive end."
That means West Virginia will either have to keep an extra player in to help protect quarterback Jarret Doege, giving Doege one or two less options throwing into a seven-man coverage, or take its chances getting the ball off before pressure gets to him.
Offensively, K-State has found some creative ways to get the football to Darren Sproles-clone Deuce Vaughn, who ranks 13th nationally averaging 133.8 yards per scrimmage. The freshman leads the country averaging 27.7 yards per catch, and he's actually got more yards receiving (360) than rushing (309).
Brown said West Virginia is going to have to play close attention to where Vaughn is at all times.
"They've done a great job with him," Brown said. "He's an issue, and we're going to have to ID him wherever he is on the field."
A season-ending injury to quarterback Skylar Thompson has forced Kansas State to go with true freshman Will Howard, a 6-foot-4, 230-pounder from Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
Howard became the first freshman quarterback in Kansas State history to win a road game three weeks ago at TCU, and he is coming off his best passing performance of the season against Kansas when he completed 17-of-24 aerials for 243 yards and two touchdowns.
He also had an 80-yard run in the TCU win, which gets your attention.
"He has made two or three difficult passes each game he's played for explosive plays," Brown added.
Northern Iowa tight end transfer Briley Moore has been a weapon in the passing game, the senior catching 17 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns so far this year. He shows 102 catches for 1,350 yards and eight touchdowns during his college career.
"He's a guy that does a nice job in the run game, but they find ways to get him the ball," Brown said.
West Virginia (3-2) has had a statistical advantage in all five games it has played so far this year, three of those being victories against Eastern Kentucky, Baylor and Kansas.
In its Big 12 road losses at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, the Mountaineers also outgained their opposition by a 353-to-342 advantage (Oklahoma State) and 438-to-348 (Texas Tech).
Quarterback Jarret Doege is coming off the best passing performance of his career against the Red Raiders, the Lubbock resident completing 32-of-50 for 347 yards and a touchdown.
After five games, sophomore slot receiver Winston Wright Jr. has emerged as West Virginia's go-to pass catcher. He caught a season-best nine passes for 126 yards against Texas Tech and also had a 100-yard receiving performance at Oklahoma State in late September.
The Savannah, Georgia, resident shows 28 receptions for 360 yards and a touchdown.
Junior running back Leddie Brown got into the end zone twice at Texas Tech, but the Red Raiders did a pretty good job of bottling him up. Brown managed 77 yards on 21 carries after generating a career-high 195 yards in the Kansas win.
He comes into today's game averaging 118.4 yards per contest on the ground.
Senior linebacker Tony Fields II continues to lead the WVU defense with 38 tackles, although he missed most of last Saturday's Texas Tech game after being ejected for targeting.
Linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo shows 37 tackles while true freshman defensive end Akheem Mesidor leads an active front with four sacks. Eight different Mountaineer defenders have gotten to the quarterback so far this season.
Today's Halloween-day game will kick off at noon and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
The Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College radio coverage begins at 8:30 a.m. with the Go-Mart Mountaineer Tailgate Show on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular mobile app WVU Gameday.
Regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning will get underway at 11 a.m.
Last year, West Virginia upset 24th-ranked Kansas State 24-20 in Manhattan, Kansas. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the stadium.
"Whatever the number is we can get in the stadium I hope we get that," Brown said. "We are really going to need our fanbase. Kansas State is a Top 25 team, so I think it's a critical matchup in our season and I look forward to our guys responding in the right way and playing better this week."
Here is today's Countdown to Kickoff, presented by WVU Medicine:
10 –Entering today's game, the Mountaineers have just 11 players that have started TEN games or more during their career. Senior linebacker Dylan Tonkery leads the way with 28 career starts.
9 – Quarterback Jarret Doege ranks NINTH nationally this week, averaging 25.4 receptions per game.
8 – EIGHT wide receivers were utilized in last Saturday's game at Texas Tech.
7 – The Mountaineer defense ranks SEVENTH nationally this week, averaging 3.6 sacks per game. Eight different defenders have gotten to the quarterback so far this season.
6 – West Virginia has played SIX times at home on Oct. 31, and the Mountaineers own a 4-2 record on this date.
5 – Each team has won FIVE games in a series that dates back to 1930. West Virginia has won four in a row.
4 – The Mountaineer offense has generated FOUR scoring plays from scrimmage covering 32 yards or longer. Leddie Brown's 87-yard touchdown run against Kansas is WVU's longest play from scrimmage so far this season.
3 –West Virginia's defense has allowed just THREE sustained drives of 10 plays or more this year – all three coming in road losses at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
2 – Running back Leddie Brown got into the end zone TWICE during last Saturday's loss at Texas Tech, and he currently ranks fourth nationally in total touchdowns with nine.
1 – Doege has completed at least ONE touchdown pass in 25 straight games dating back to his time at Bowling Green – the longest active streak among FBS players.
Enjoy today's game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete postgame coverage.
Players Mentioned
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