Kansas football vs. West Virginia: Preview and Prediction

In the Jayhawks’ first Big 12 game of the season, they’ll be taking on the West Virginia Mountaineers in Lawrence. Both teams are coming off big wins from the previous week, but how will the teams look this Saturday?

LAST WEEK

Kansas football’s win last week over Boston College is arguably the program’s biggest win in the past ten years. Not only were the Jayhawks a 20 point underdog, but they also hadn’t won a road game vs. a power-five conference team since 2008. It was a great night for everyone, and the Jayhawks will look to continue their offensive explosion into this week.

READ MORE: Was losing to Coastal Carolina the best thing for Kansas football?

After a tough 38-7 week two loss to Missouri, West Virginia rebounded in a big way against NC State at home in week three. The Mountaineers beat the Wolfpack soundly by a score of 44-27. Similar to Kansas, West Virginia finally got their offense going after only scoring a combined 27 points in their first two games of the season.

THIS WEEK

The initial point spread this week was West Virginia -7 to the surprise of many. That line has done nothing but drop, and as of today, the line has moved to West Virginia -4.5.  The rapid line movement begs the question: why do people think that Kansas is going to win?

As mentioned, the Jayhawks are coming off a massive road win. Kansas football has been plagued by a terrible inability to win games on the road for the past decade. The thing about the win last week is that it wasn’t a fluke or an accidental win. Kansas shut down Boston College and imposed their will on the Eagles. It was certainly a different experience than what Kansas football fans are used to.

This week, Carter Stanley and the Kansas offense needs to pick up right where they left off. If Stanley can continue completing passes to receivers like Andrew Parchment and Daylon Charlot, the Jayhawks are bound to put up an abundance of points.

Not to mention, running backs Pooka Williams and Khalil Herbert are both coming off huge games in the ground. Getting Williams out in space via screens or other means could be huge for Kansas, as West Virginia hasn’t faced a running back as good as Williams, or Herbert for that matter.

RELATED STORY: The best part about the Kansas football win over BC? It wasn’t a fluke

If the Jayhawks offense can come out swinging and put West Virginia away quickly, that would be the best thing for Kansas. Especially after the defense showed that they have the ability to adjust; the Kansas defense didn’t give up a single second-half point last week.

Continuing to make effective mid-game adjustments will be the key for the Jayhawks defense this week. West Virginia has struggled on third down this year, with only a 36% conversion rate, so stopping the Mountaineers on third down should be a point of emphasis as well.

West Virginia quarterback Austin Kendall has thrown for six touchdowns and three interceptions on the season. He’s completed 66% of his passes this year for 669 yards. The West Virginia offense of line is suspect, so the Kansas front seven should make it a priority to pressure Kendall as much as possible.

PREDICTION

Kansas will be too much to handle for West Virginia, especially playing in a, dare I say, “amped” stadium. With the Jayhawks being 2-1 and having an extremely good chance vs. a Big 12 opponent, it wouldn’t be surprising if David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium (The Booth) had its biggest attendance of the season thus far on Saturday.

Herbert and Williams will be their usual selves, running all over the Mountaineer defense; while Carter Stanley has another good game, albeit not as good as last week. As long as the Kansas offense resembles that of last week and the defense does its usual thing, the Jayhawks should get the win.

Final Prediction: Kansas-27, West Virginia- 13