Examining West Virginia and Kansas Ahead of Week 4 Clash
The West Virginia Mountaineers (1-2) will host the Kansas Jayhawks (1-2) on Saturday, September 21st with kickoff set for 12PM ET on ESPN2. Both teams enter Saturday’s matchup having failed early to meet their own lofty expectations for the 2024 season.
With that said, Saturday’s matchup is the start of Big 12 Conference play for both schools, meaning that one team will start 1-0 as the other falls to 0-1 and 1-3 overall. It cannot be overstated how important this matchup could be for the winning side, and how costly it could be for the losing one. So let's take a deep dive on how each team has performed thus far.
A Look at How We Got Here
West Virginia has opened the season with a pair of rivalry clashes against fellow Power Four teams and an FCS home game.
The Mountaineers began the season hosting Fox Big Noon Kickoff in a matchup with a Top 10 Penn State opponent and were handled easily in a 34-12 loss. While WVU wasn’t expected to beat the Nittany Lions, many were expecting a closer game.
Head Coach Neal Brown was not happy with his team’s performance against Penn State and continued to reiterate that point in the days that would follow. Luckily for Brown, the Mountaineers would return home for an easier opponent the following week in FCS foe Albany.
In what was a tune-up game against the Great Danes, the offense really had its way. They racked up 553 yards of offense, averaging 9.5 yards per pass and 9.5 yards per rush. The questions that surrounded the WVU secondary coming out of Week 1 appeared to be warranted, though, as they allowed Albany to collect over 300 yards through the air.
But things didn't stay on the right track last week. A tough loss for the Mountaineers in the Backyard Brawl left many Mountaineer fans feeling heartbroken. A Garrett Greene pass to Justin Robinson in the end zone gave the Mountaineers a 34-24 lead with just under 5 minutes to play. Two Pitt touchdown drives later, Pitt secured the comeback victory. In an exciting game full of ties and lead changes, Pitt’s ability to finish and WVU’s inability to close it out led to the Mountaineers falling to 1-2.
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Kansas had a bit more national hype entering the season, coming into the year ranked 22nd in the AP Poll. In Week 1 against FCS opponent Lindenwood, Kansas put up 331 yards rushing, led by senior Devin Neal who had 112 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Things have bee downhill every since then though. The Jayhawks moved to19th in the next AP Poll, but were subsequently upset on the road against Illinois. Neal and the rushing attack continued to impress, averaging 5.6 yards per carry as a team. But quarterback Jalon Daniels struggled through the air, going 18 for 32 with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Illinois had just 272 yards of total offense, but it was enough to knock off the Jayhawks.
Kansas returned home for what they hoped would be a 'get right' game against Mountain West Conference opponent UNLV, so it certainly came as a surprise to everyone when they dropped the matchup 23-20 last Friday.
Neal eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground for the third consecutive week, but Jalon Daniels tossed two more interceptions while completing just 50% of his passes. Kansas out-gained UNLV by 85 yards but an 18-play drive that eclipsed nine minutes put UNLV ahead by three points with just two minutes remaining. This ended with Kansas dropping their second-consecutive game heading into conference play.
While neither team has played up to their expectations thus far, Saturday provides both groups with an opportunity to right the ship, ever so slightly. Who can take advantage of the opportunity?