MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Thanksgiving week is always Neal Brown's favorite time of year, not only for the food but also the fellowship.
 
Brown explained.
 
"It's all football for our players," he said. "We've got players with goals of becoming an NFL player, and in the NFL, you have football all of the time, so this week gives them a glimpse of this. Classes are not in session so it's all football for them, and there's no excuse for them not to be prepared mentally and physically for the game. 
 
"For me, we have more time with our players," he added. "We have meals together each day. Wednesday night is a time for them to spend at their position coach's house and then Thursday, we have a huge meal for our team. Because it's a night game, we will even have more time together."
 
Brown said his team is coming off a solid, all-around performance in last Saturday's 31-23 victory over Texas to get one step closer to a bowl. A win Saturday night at 2-9 Kansas would give the Mountaineers the six wins required to become bowl eligible.
 
However, Brown indicated the talking point to his team this week is not about playing for an extra game, it's about continuing to play quality football on a consistent basis – something that's eluded this team for most of the season.
 
After a disappointing performance to open the season at Maryland, West Virginia recovered to win games against Long Island and Virginia Tech.
 
Then came disappointing last-possession defeats to Oklahoma and Texas Tech, followed by a blowout loss at Baylor.
 
The Mountaineers rebounded with wins over TCU and Iowa State, only to lose back-to-back games to Oklahoma State and Kansas State. Brown's message after the Kansas State loss was to simply play better in all three phases.
 
"We just need to continue being consistent, which is something that's eluded us all year," Brown pointed out. "We played a three-phase football game against Texas, and now we have to do it again. That's the challenge for us because we have lacked consistency."
 
The 2-9 Jayhawks are playing the role of spoiler, so anything and everything is on the table Saturday night in Lawrence. Kansas will be honoring 15 seniors beforehand, and the emotion will likely carry over when the football gets kicked at 7 p.m. ET.
 
"First of all, coach (Lance) Leipold and his staff have done a tremendous job. His guys are getting better each and every week. They're prepared, they're playing hard, and schematically, they are difficult to go against," Brown said. "Against Texas, they played as good as they've played all year and then they followed that up with a really gutsy performance against TCU. They got beat on a last-second field goal."
 
The record doesn't necessarily show it, but Leipold's staff has made significant progress since taking over following the conclusion of spring football practice in late April.
 
They have settled on sophomore Jalen Daniels as their quarterback moving forward and the Lawndale, California, resident has responded by helping the Jayhawks score 85 points against Texas and TCU.
 
Kansas tied TCU with 4:46 remaining before the Horned Frogs marched the length of the field to kick the go-ahead field goal with just six seconds left. Daniels completed 22 of 30 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns against the Horned Frogs, one week after throwing three touchdown passes in Kansas' 57-56 overtime win at Texas.
 
Daniels is completing 69.4% of his 85 pass attempts for 611 yards and six touchdowns, while also running 21 times for 74 yards and two scores.
 
"Jalen Daniels has been their catalyst," Brown said. "He's changed the whole dynamic of their team when he stepped into a starting role two weeks ago."
 
Senior wide receiver Kwamie Lassiter II is a familiar name to Mountaineer fans. Lassiter caught a touchdown pass against West Virginia in the 2018 game and shows 141 career catches for 1,505 yards and seven touchdowns. This year, he's caught a team-best 52 passes for 608 yards and three touchdowns.
 
KU has also had a history of field productive running backs, whether it's James Sims running for 211 yards against WVU in 2013, Khalil Herbert ripping off 291 yards in the 2017 game or the recently departed Pooka Williams, and freshman Devin Neal appears to be another one.
 
He's gained 707 yards and scored eight touchdowns so far this year, including 100-yard performances against Duke (107), Oklahoma (100) and Texas (143). Neal got 59 yards and a touchdown last week against TCU before departing in the second quarter with a shoulder injury.
 
Brown said he is preparing his team to face Neal on Saturday.
 
Defensively, the Jayhawks have quality players at all three levels - senior defensive end Kyron Johnson, junior linebacker Gavin Potter and junior safety Kenny Logan Jr.
 
"Johnson, their defensive end, is one of the best pass rushers in our league. He's going to be difficult for us to block," Brown said. "If you look at Logan, their safety, he plays the run and the pass extremely well. Then they've got a linebacker in Potter who really does a good job of managing their defense."
 
Special teams-wise, Kansas uses Logan in the kick return game and Lassiter as a punt returner and both rank among the leaders in the Big 12 in their respective categories.
 
One other element of concern for Brown is the trick play. Kansas has used them this year and Brown expects more of it on Saturday for Senior Day. That means the coaching staff upstairs in the press box must keep a sharp eye on personnel groupings, particularly if Kansas runs two quarterbacks on the field at the same time.
 
"We've got to be smart in our preparation," Brown admitted. "They've done a great job, and they are hard to defend for what they do offensively because they use a bunch of different formations, they shift and motion (pre-snap) as much as anyone we play and they're going to stress you. And when you have a quarterback who can run, that adds another dimension to the trick-play aspect."
 
Saturday's game will be televised nationally on FS1 (Guy Haberman and Charles Arbuckle), while Mountaineer Sports Network coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show leading into regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning at 6 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular mobile app WVU Gameday.
 
"They give us 12 games and we have 12 opportunities, and this is another opportunity for us to play our best," Brown said. "It's the only game we've got this week, and I think it's really important for this football team and this football program to finish the season strong by playing quality football."
 
West Virginia is 9-1 all-time against the Jayhawks, 8-1 since joining the Big 12 in 2012. The Mountaineers' lone loss came in Lawrence in 2013 when Kansas won 31-19.