West Virginia hosts No. 17 Kansas State this weekend as the Mountaineers look to get back on track against the Wildcats.
Kansas State comes into Saturday coming off a 31-28 win against Colorado and they are 5-1 on the season and 2-1 in Big 12 play.
Head Coach
Chris Klieman is in his sixth season at Kansas State and is 44-25 during his time as K-State's head coach. He is 2-2 all-time against West Virginia.
Kansas State is ahead in the all-time series, 7-6, while the Mountaineers are 4-3 in home games played against the Wildcats. West Virginia won five straight games in the series from 2016-2020, while Kansas State has won the last two games.
The Wildcats have played in three true road games this season, they beat Tulane 34-27, lost to BYU, 38-9, and beat Colorado, 31-28.
Offense
Kansas State's offense has scored at least 31 points in every game except one this season.
At quarterback, they are led by Avery Johnson, a dual-threat quarterback who burst onto the scene in their bowl game last season. Johnson has completed about 62 percent of his passes, throwing for 1,103 yards, 11 touchdowns, and five interceptions.
Through three Big 12 games, he's completed 60 percent of his passes for 643 yards and five touchdowns. During that span, he's also thrown four of his five interceptions on the season. In league play, he also has all three of his rushing scores on the season (three), and he has 306 yards on 51 rush attempts in total this season.
At running back is DJ Giddens who is arguably the top running back in the Big 12. Giddens has rushed 108 times for 786 yards and two touchdowns. He is second in the Big 12 in rush yards per game but is first in total yards on the ground. Giddens has also been a threat in the passing game as he has 10 catches for 129 yards and a touchdown.
Another running back the Wildcats deploy is Dylan Edwards. Edwards has 222 yards and three touchdowns on 36 rushing attempts. He also has 64 yards and a touchdown on 10 catches.
As far as true receiving threats, Jayce Brown and Keagan Johnson are at the wide receiver spot and there is a question mark surrounding tight end Brayden Loftin.
Brown and Johnson have been the top targets for Johnson this season. Brown has 23 grabs for 398 yards and three scores. Johnson has 14 catches for 161 yards as Johnson spreads the ball around.
Loftin has not played in the last two games for Kansas State, but ahead of Kansas State's game against Colorado, Klieman was hopeful that he could play against the Mountaineers. Loftin has only seven catches this season but has turned them into 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Kansas State is second in the Big 12 in rush yards per game, and they are fifth in total yards per game. They have been efficient in the red zone, as they are third in scoring percentage, only not scoring on one trip to the red zone.
Defense
Kansas State has been quite good on defense through the first half of the 2024 season, as they play the run exceptionally well.
The Wildcats have four guys on that side of the ball who stand out, coming on all different levels of the defense.
Up front is Brendan Mott, who has 22.0 total tackles, 7.5 TFLs, and his 6.0 sacks lead the Big 12. At the linebacker position is Austin Romaine, who has 39.0 total tackles, which leads the K-State defense. He has 4.0 TFLs and 2.0 sacks, along with a forced fumble as well.
On the back end of the Kansas State defense is a pair of players who have gotten their hands on the ball this year. Cornerback Jacob Parrish has 28.0 total tackles, a TFL, and an interception. Safety VJ Payne has 20 tackles, a TFL, a forced fumble, and two interceptions on the year.
Kansas State leads the league in rushing defense, but despite their high turnover mark, they have struggled to stop the pass this year. They rank 15th in passing yards per game but have also sacked the quarterback 18 times, which leads the Big 12.
Kansas State is also able to get off the field on defense, as they are allowing the fourth-fewest fourth downs, they are fifth in third-down percentage and sixth in fourth-down percentage on defense.
Special Teams
Kicker Chris Tennant has been pretty solid for the Wildcats at kicker. He is 9-for-11 on field goals, with one miss coming from 53 yards and the other from 48 yards.
On kickoffs, Simon McClannan has recently taken the job from Tennant and he has 16 total kickoffs with 12 of them going for touchbacks.
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