WVU Football Gets Blown Out by Kansas; Hopes to Get Back on Track at Home Against Utah
BY: JUSTIN WALKER & SHANNA ROSE | WV Sports Chat
From the opening snap, Kansas dominated West Virginia in a 41-10 rout Saturday night at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels led the charge, throwing three touchdown passes and finishing with 138 yards through the air while adding 69 yards rushing. Running back Leshon Williams powered the ground game with 129 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
WVU was unable to get anything going offensively. Starting quarterback Nicco Marchiol completed 15 of 27 passes for 126 yards and an interception before being replaced by Jaylen Henderson in the third quarter.
Tye Edwards, who rushed for 141 yards the previous week in the Backyard Brawl, was unable to play due to a hip injury. His absence really hampered the Mountaineer running attack. They were only able to gain 182 yards on the ground, with most of those coming after the game was out of reach.
Most of those rushing yards came from Henderson, who gave the offense a spark with his legs after replacing Marchiol. He carried the ball six times for a total of 79 yards. That included a 13-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter. The effort was too little, too late, however. Kansas would then answer with a touchdown of its own to land at the final score.
Kansas moved to 3-1 (1-0) on the season, while the Mountaineers dropped to 2-2 (0-1).
Utah Preview
Next up for WVU football is a home contest against the Utah Utes (3-1). This is the first contest between the two programs since Utah joined the Big 12 last season.
The Utes are coming off a loss of their own after falling 34-10 to Texas Tech at home last Saturday.
Quarterback Devon Dampier leads the Utah offense. He has completed 90 of 127 passes for 790 yards, with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. The junior transfer from New Mexico also leads the Utes in rushing with 225 yards on 44 carries.
Dampier relies on Ryan Davis (29 catches for 241 yards) as his leading receiver. Splitting time at running back alongside Dampier in the backfield will likely be Naquari Rogers (46 carries for 189 yards) and Wayshawn Parker (33 carries for 214 yards). Tight End Dallen Bentley is also a threat in the pass game.
The matchup that will likely decide this game, however, is the Utah defense versus a West Virginia offense that has been struggling. The Mountaineers find themselves near the bottom nationally in several offensive categories. Per teamrankings.com, WVU is 117th in the country in both Yards Per Play (4.4) and Points Per Play (.225). They are even worse in third-down conversions, converting only 22.22%, which ranks them 131st out of 134 FBS teams.
Meanwhile, the Utah defense ranks 43rd in Opponent Yards per Play (5.0) and 26th in Opponent Points per Play (.269).
As for individual players to watch for Utah, it starts with defensive end John Henry Daley. The 6-foot-4-inch edge rusher is one of the nation’s leaders in sacks with six already on the season. The sophomore has also forced two fumbles.
Linebackers Lander Barton (15 total tackles) and Johnathan Hall (19 total tackles) are solid run stoppers in the middle.
On the backend, safety Jackson Bennee has three interceptions on the year for the Utes.
This game will be played at Mountaineer Field inside Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time/2:30 p.m. Central Time on FOX. Utah is heavily favored in the contest. ESPN gives the Mountaineers only a 27.8% chance to win.