WVU Football's Biggest Concerns After Blowout Loss to Kansas

Many people were skeptical of WVU football entering a road trip to Kansas as two-touchdown underdogs in their Big 12 opener. Those who doubted the line were correct in the fact that the projected outcome was way off from the actual outcome. However, they were incorrect in assuming that this would be a close game.

The Mountaineers lost to the Jayhawks by a final score of 41-10, and Kansas simply dominated West Virginia in every facet of the game. The performance in Lawrence leaves a lot of concerns for the Mountaineers, which we'll highlight below. In the end, most of them boil down to one big issue: something has to change with West Virginia's offense.

Who Is The Best Option At Quarterback?

The ever-evolving situation at quarterback continues for the Mountaineers. One moment is a full-on quarterback controversy, the next, it appears to surely be Nicco Marchiol’s job for the foreseeable future. The former is where West Virginia finds itself now. After leading his team to a comeback victory in the Backyard Brawl over Pitt, Marchiol (and the entire offense) struggled mightily against the Jayhawks. 

There were questions regarding Marchiol’s fit in Rich Rodriguez’s offense as soon as the head coach took the job in December. He simply does not have the running ability of many other signal callers who have found success under Rodriguez. The push for another quarterback to get playing time is less rooted in their ability to throw the football better than Marchiol, but rather in their ability to produce on the ground.

West Virginia’s lone touchdown against Kansas came on a 95-yard drive engineered by QB Jaylen Henderson in the second half. While WVU’s offense struggled both through the air and on the ground, Henderson was able to rush for 79 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Many have a desire to see Henderson be the starting quarterback moving forward. 

Offensive Line Struggles

A key reason as to why the quarterbacks have struggled is found in the performance of the offensive line this season. Aside from three consecutive scoring drives to end the Backyard Brawl, this unit has not performed well. Many Mountaineer fans may have been guilty of clinging to the hope that the ending to the win over Pitt had presented as we geared up for conference play. The thought was that maybe this Mountaineer offense had figured it out, and after the trip to Lawrence, that proved to be wishful thinking. 

Should the offensive line continue to struggle to this degree, the Mountaineers will be in for a long season. They walked away from the first three games – Robert Morris, Ohio, and Pitt – with average PFF grades across the starting lineup of 61.09, 62.08, and 52.18, respectively. Against Kansas, that average dropped once again to 51.60 – right guard Kimo Maka'neole managed an overall grade of 45.10 (and was highlighted by the fans missing multiple assignments that allowed defenders to go untouched on pass plays), and right tackle Ty'Kieast Crawford had an overall grade of 41.30.

Maka'neoloe ranks among the worst offensive guards in the country in both pass blocking grade and run blocking grade out of players with more than 100 snaps this season, and the highest-graded starter was center Landen Livingston with an overall grade 62.30 – and he left the game with an injury that looks like it could knock him out for the season. The highest grade offensive lineman on the game was actually backup center Carson Lee, who managed an overall grade of 63.80 in relief of Livingston.

3. The Running Back Room

Tye Edwards' injury was certainly more significant than it appeared to be in the early part of the week. Edwards ended up being a game-time decision against Kansas and did not play. After losing Jahiem White in the loss at Ohio, Edwards stepped up in a major way in the Backyard Brawl with 141 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. West Virginia certainly would’ve benefitted from having Edwards in the backfield on Saturday against Kansas. 

In the absence of White and Edwards, Clay Ash has been the primary guy in the backfield. He has not been able to produce, leaving many scratching their heads at why he is seeing so many snaps.
On the season, Clay Ash has 28 carries for 74 yards. He’s averaging 2.6 yards per carry. Both Cyncir Bowers and Tyler Jacklich showed flashes of potential on Saturday, but it's not enough to be considered the go-to back – and that's something WVU desperately needs.

Overall Lack of Adaptability on Offense

Rich Rodriguez likes his offenses to play fast and feature a healthy dose of running the football. However, given the personnel of this WVU team, they may be better suited for several adjustments that we have yet to see. The struggles of the offense against Kansas seemed to be a duplicate of the performance put forth in the loss at Ohio. As far as play calling and personnel usage are concerned, Rodriguez and the offensive staff need to make adjustments, but we haven't seen many at all yet. This offense has to figure out what it's good at, and adapt accordingly.

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