The Kansas football team hosts West Virginia on Saturday at David Booth Memorial Stadium in its first conference matchup of the season. The Jayhawks went 2-1 in the non-conference portion of their schedule.
The lone loss, against Missouri, raised several red flags with this particular team. KU needs to bounce back and play closer to the level they did in their first two games, more so than against the Tigers.
The Mountaineers shouldn’t be as good as Missouri is, but the Jayhawks still need to prove they can handle a Power Four school. There will be some indicators that KU addressed some issues during its bye week.
3 improvements to watch for during Kansas vs. West Virginia
No. 3: Secondary tightening up
Kansas allowed several costly big plays against the Tigers. Not all of them fell on the shoulders of the secondary, but they let some receivers get wide open, and then were unable to track them down quickly enough.
If the Jayhawks do what they did earlier in the season and protect the sidelines, plus take away the middle of the field, they’ll shut down the Mountaineers’ passing game.
No. 2: Curtail the running game on defense
Kansas did a great job of stifling the run during their wins against Fresno State and Wagner, allowing only 90 yards on the ground on 57 carries. The defensive line was demolished by the Tigers as the Missouri backs ran for 261 yards on 47 carries.
The Jayhawks need to control the line of scrimmage against West Virginia, not only against the run, but in applying pressure to the quarterback. The line can help out the secondary by making the quarterback uncomfortable.
KU should stiffen the defense along the trenches and be much better at stopping the run against the Mountaineers.
No. 1: Run the ball effectively
Against the Tigers, Kansas running backs Daniel Hishaw Jr. and LeShon Williams totaled just nine carries and 11 rushing yards. Those are embarrassing totals. The inability to effectively run the ball cost the Jayhawks in so many ways.
The lack of a running game caused KU to control the ball for only 19 and a half minutes and put way too much pressure on the passing game. Look for the Jayhawks to rededicate themselves to running the ball much more against West Virginia.
West Virginia is not as good as Missouri, and the Jayhawks come in as firm favorites. KU is favored to win by two touchdowns on BETMGM. It will be encouraging to see Kansas take charge of this game early and stay in control.
KU needs to do the things they did well in their first two games against stronger opposition, and this game could go a long way to proving that the Kansas football team can be a force in the Big 12.
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