Countdown to Kickoff – Kansas Preview

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Two 1-2 football teams looking to avoid a 1-3 start to the season will be facing off later today when West Virginia plays host to Kansas at Milan Puskar Stadium. It's the Big 12 opener for both teams. "Both of us are coming into the game not pleased with our first three games," West Virginia coach Neal Brown said. "Both of us are sitting here 1-2 and had higher hopes for the beginning of the season. I don't want to speak for Lance (Leipold), but I know we did. It's two hungry football teams and two football teams with their backs against the wall." Kansas, coming off a nine-win season a year ago and ranked 22nd in the preseason Associated Press top 25 poll, defeated Lindenwood to begin the year before dropping its last two games to Illinois and UNLV. Two weeks ago, the Jayhawks led the Illini 17-13 early in the fourth quarter before surrendering two late scores in a 23-17 loss. Last Friday, Kansas once again couldn't hold on to a lead when UNLV rallied from 11 points down to win 23-20. Junior quarterback Jalon Daniels, who has put up some terrific passing numbers during his injury-plagued career, has struggled during his first three games of 2024, completing 54.9% of his 71 pass attempts with six interceptions and just three touchdown passes. Compare that to the end of 2022 when he passed for 544 yards and five touchdowns in a triple-overtime loss to Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl, or the tremendous games he had against Texas in 2020 and 2021. Two years ago in Morgantown, Daniels' passing and running led the Jayhawks to a 55-42 overtime win. That's the last time these two teams have played. "We've got to be able to contain the quarterback," Brown admitted. "That's really hurt us the first three weeks. Jalon Daniels is special. We're not going to stop him, and we're not going to stop him from running, but we've got to contain him and eliminate explosive plays. We've got to keep the ball in front of us." Running back Devin Neal was also a big factor in the KU victory two years ago in Morgantown with two rushing touchdowns and comes into Saturday's game ranked fourth in Kansas history in career rushing with 3,410 yards and second with 35 career rushing touchdowns. Neal has eclipsed 100 yards or more in a game 15 times, including a career-high 224 yards in a 37-16 win over 18th-ranked Oklahoma State in 2022. The Lawrence, Kansas, resident has topped 100 yards in all three games this year, including a season-high 120 yards in last week's loss to UNLV. Luke Grimm (18 catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns) and Lawrence Arnold (10 catches for 131 yards and one touchdown) lead KU's aerial attack. Defensively, Jayhawk players to keep an eye on are linebacker Cornell Wheeler with a team-best 19 tackles, cornerback Mello Dotson with 16 tackles and the team's lone interception, and defensive end Jereme Robinson with a team-best 2½ sacks and 4½ tackles for loss. "They are very well coached on defense and their defensive line plays extremely hard," Brown said. "We've got to be able to handle them up front. "We've got to continue to run the ball like we have the last two weeks, we've got to make some plays in the pass game and we're getting better at that," Brown said. Despite its 1-2 start, Kansas ranks 17th this week in total defense, allowing 246.7 yards per game and is 22nd against the pass surrendering just 135 yards per contest. Compare that to West Virginia's pass defense, which ranks 120th out of 133 teams, giving up an alarming 280.7 yards per game. That's six spots better than its pass efficiency rating of 170.26 and four spots better than the team's -1.67 turnover margin per game. Brown mentioned earlier this week during his weekly press conference that personnel changes and some schematic tweaks are coming in the secondary. "We're not going to continue to do the same things," he said. Eight of the 12 touchdowns West Virginia has given up this year have come via the pass, and the last two weeks have seen 300-yard passing efforts from UAlbany's Myles Burkett and Pitt's Eli Holstein.

Despite those difficulties, the Mountaineers were in prime position to take down Pitt last Saturday in Pittsburgh in the 107th Backyard Brawl. West Virginia was leading 34-24 with less than five minutes remaining following Justin Robinson's pretty, one-handed touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone, but the defense couldn't contain Holstein's scrambling and passing.   It took Pitt just 1:49 to march 75 yards, and despite two holding penalties that made it second and 30, the Panthers scored when Holstein completed a long pass to Daejon Reynolds between three Mountaineer defenders for a 40-yard touchdown.   On the following possession, West Virginia was forced to punt the ball back to Pitt, and the Panthers once again consumed large chunks of real estate in rapid succession to reach the end zone. The deciding score came with 32 seconds left when Derrick Davis Jr. bulled in from the 1.   The game ended when linebacker Kyle Louis intercepted Garrett Greene's fourth-down pass at midfield.    Greene was 16-of-30 passing for 210 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while running 11 times for 49 yards.   Junior running back CJ Donaldson Jr. paced the ground game with 79 yards on 19 attempts with one touchdown, while Jahiem White contributed 46 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.   Donaldson is the team's top ground gainer with 246 yards and three touchdowns and has now moved up to 31st at WVU in career rushing with 1,570 yards. He needs just 204 yards to surpass Walt Easley for 25th place on the school's all-time rushing list.   Greene is completing 59.3% of his 81 passes for 607 yards and five touchdowns with a team-best 10 of those aerials going to sophomore Traylon Ray for 95 yards. Tight end Kole Taylor is tops with 115 receiving yards on nine catches with one touchdown.   Defensively, safety Anthony Wilson Jr. leads the team with 22 tackles. Freshman linebacker Josiah Trotter shows 17 stops, 1½ tackles for loss, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.   Troy transfer TJ Jackson II, starting in place of injured Edward Vesterinen, now leads the defense with 2½ sacks and seven tackles for loss.   "Just because we weren't pleased with how we finished the game last week, it can't carry over," Brown explained. "We start Big 12 play. It's the only game we play this week and then we have a bye week. There is nothing to hold back from.   "We've got to go out and put a better product on the field. That's our plan, and I believe we will," he added.   Here is today's Countdown to Kickoff:   10 – The Mountaineers return TEN of the 16 players who caught a pass from last year's team and TEN different receivers caught passes in WVU's recent 49-14 win over UAlbany.   9 – NINE true freshmen have seen action so far in 2024 for the Mountaineers: Makai Byerson (DL), Trae'Von Dunbar (RB), Ric'Darious Farmer (WR), Nate Gabriel (DL), Zae Jennings (SPEAR), Curtis Jones Jr. (LB), Elijah Kinsler (DL), Keyshawn Robinson (S) and Jack Sammarco (TE).   8 – Today's game will be Kansas' EIGHTH appearance in Morgantown dating back to 1941 and the seventh since West Virginia joined the Big 12 in 2012.   7 – West Virginia has recorded multiple sacks in SEVEN of its last eight games dating back to last season.   6 – The Mountaineers have defeated the Jayhawks SIX times in Morgantown and losing only once the last time these two teams met in 2022.   5 – All FIVE starting Mountaineer offensive linemen have recorded six or more great blocks, as awarded by the coaching, so far this season. Left tackle Wyatt Milum leads the way with 13, followed by left guard Tomas Rimac with eight.   4 – The Mountaineer defense has recorded at least FOUR tackles for loss in 22 out of their last 24 games dating back to the 2022 season.   3 – West Virginia is one of THREE teams in the Big 12 with two players ranked in the top 12 in average rushing yards per game (C.J. Donaldson Jr. and Jahiem White).   2 – The Mountaineers are one of TWO teams in the Big 12 this week with multiple players ranked among the league leaders in total tackles for loss (T.J. Jackson II and Trey Lathan).   1 – Senior place kicker Michael Hayes II ranks FIRST in the country this week in field goal percentage (1.000).   Prior to today's game, eight new members will be inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame at 9 a.m. in the Caperton Indoor Practice facility adjacent to Milan Puskar Stadium.   Football players Anthony Becht, Rasheed Marshall and Adrian Murrell will join men's basketball's Chris Brooks, women's basketball's Liz Repella, baseball's Mark Landers, men's track and cross country's Bob Donker and swimming's Bette Hushla in this year's class.   These inductees bring the total to 237 in the WVU Sports Hall of Fame.   Today's contest will be televised nationally on ESPN2 (Brian Custer, Rod Gilmore and Lauren Sisler) while Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage begins at 9 a.m. with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show leading into regular network coverage at 11 a.m. with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning.   Fans can access the broadcast on many stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com or the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.   "It's the Big 12, and we've got to put the nonconference schedule behind us and go in with a 1-0 mentality," Brown said. "That's how we have to go about it each and every week and that's how we are going to attack it."   West Virginia owns a 6-1 record against Kansas in games played in Morgantown and a 10-2 overall edge in the series which began in Morgantown in 1941. The two teams have played each year from 2012 to 2022.  Live stats coverage is available through WVUsports.com.