Wildcat report: West Virginia 17, K-State 16

By Kellis Robinett

Updated October 2, 2016 12:34 AM

Kansas State defensive back Kendall Adams recovers a fumble during the second half. Ray Thompson Associated Press

First quarter

The key: West Virginia gained 125 yards, but didn’t score any points. The Mountaineers missed a field goal on their opening series.

Second quarter

The key: Jesse Ertz completed two of nine passes, which led to a pair of K-State field goals instead of touchdowns.

Third quarter

The key: Byron Pringle dropped a pass in the end zone that would have given K-State a 20-3 lead.

Fourth quarter

The key: Matthew McCrane missed a 43-yard field goal in the final minutes. West Virginia took over and won the game.

Report card

Offense: C. Jesse Ertz showed some moxie on K-State’s final drive, moving the offense into range for a go-ahead field goal, but he needs to complete more than 33 percent of his passes, especially if he’s only going to get 88 yards of rushing help from his running backs.

Defense: A. West Virginia gained yards (422) but had all kinds of trouble scoring. Elijah Lee and Willis played great, and the defense forced two turnovers. They did enough for K-State to win.

Special teams: B. Matthew McCrane booted a kickoff out of bounds and missed a go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter. K-State’s special teams were solid otherwise, but those were big mistakes.

Coaching: C. K-State needs to develop a better, and faster, system for calling plays. Too often, its offense is penalized for delay of game or forced to use timeouts before the clock hits zero. That’s on the coaching staff.

Player of the game

Jordan Willis. The stats don’t do justice to his performance. Willis, a senior defensive end, impacted seemingly every play with his pass rushing. He sacked Skyler Howard twice and forced him into countless bad throws.

Reason to hope

K-State’s defense flexed its muscles against a spread attack that entered the day averaging more than 500 yards. The Wildcats might have the best defense in the Big 12.

Reason to mope

The Wildcats need lots of work on offense. No matter how good your defense plays, you can’t hold Big 12 offenses down forever.

Next up

K-State hosts Texas Tech next week. The game should be a toss up. The Red Raiders have one of the nation’s most explosive offenses, but they also have one of the nation’s worst defenses.

Kellis Robinett

This story was originally published October 1, 2016 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Wildcat report: West Virginia 17, K-State 16."