WVU looks for first conference win over Wildcats
Dana Holgorsen doesn’t need to remind his team that they have yet to beat Kansas State since becoming a member of the Big 12 Conference. Frankly, he doesn’t have to.
“No, you guys will handle that for us,” he said to the media at his weekly press conference.
West Virginia has played Kansas State four times since joining the league in 2012 and four times the Mountaineers have left the field a loser. The Mountaineers have been outscored in the four games 140-69 and have yet to eclipse the 24-point mark in any of those contests.
“I think it’s just the little things. As a team we have to come in and realize we have to play a total game,” redshirt senior linebacker Justin Arndt said.
In the first meeting West Virginia was dominated by the Wildcats to a tune of 55-14 in a game that was thoroughly dominated by Kansas State. And that was just the start. After two more losses in as many games to head coach Bill Snyder’s outfit came last season.
That was particularly tough one to swallow as the Mountaineers controlled much of the game leading 13-3 at halftime before the Wildcats engineered a comeback.
Starting quarterback Joe Heubener was injured during the game and senior wide receiver Kody Cook took over under center and connected on a 77-yard touchdown pass to put the Wildcats ahead 17-13. Yes, you read that right.
West Virginia would recapture the lead, but allow a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Morgan Burns to put the Wildcats ahead 24-23, which would be the final score.
The loss ended the West Virginia win streak down the stretch and kept the Mountaineers from reaching the eight-win plateau since they joined the Big 12 Conference.
“Last year you look back, if we would have beat Kansas State we probably would have went to a better bowl game. We’re looking forward to it,” redshirt senior safety Jarrod Harper.
An always well-disciplined football team, Kansas State has taken advantage of West Virginia’s mistakes over the years and more often than not made them pay. Punt returns for touchdowns, kick returns and forcing turnovers have helped the Wildcats dominate the series to date.
“We give up big plays at inopportune times. It’s just been one of those things. Two years ago a punt return for a touchdown, last year a kick return. We all have to do better and we have to get better,” defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said.
West Virginia will have another opportunity to get the Kansas State gorilla off its back. But execution will be key and the Mountaineers must out-Snyder the wizard himself.