K-State Wildcats vs. WVU Mountaineers: Prediction, game preview, time, line, TV
THE DETAILS
Kickoff: 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia
TV: ESPN2
Radio: KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita, KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City
The line: West Virginia by 5
PREDICTION
Kansas State is on a four-game winning streak thanks mostly to excellent play on defense and special teams, but the Wildcats will probably need to add offense to the equation in order to defeat West Virginia on Saturday.
The Mountaineers enter this game as slim favorites, and that’s not a mistake by the oddsmakers. West Virginia has one of the best defenses in the Big 12, and it shut down K-State a year ago during a 24-20 victory in Manhattan. It also hasn’t lost at home this season.
Neal Brown likes to disguise his defensive formations, constantly rotating between three-man fronts and four-man fronts in all of West Virginia’s games. That can be difficult for an opposing quarterback to recognize.
It will certainly be a challenge for K-State freshman Will Howard.
West Virginia is the best defensive team K-State has played all season, allowing 3.1 yards per rush (best in the Big 12) and six yards per pass (second best in the Big 12).
The Wildcats will need to continue to gain big chunks of yardage with Deuce Vaughn and Briley Moore, and potentially get other playmakers like Chabastin Taylor and Harry Trotter involved to move the ball against the Mountaineers.
Then again, it might not take many points to win. This has the look of a low-scoring game, similar to the 21-14 victory that K-State grinded out three weeks ago against TCU.
Jarret Doege ranks third in the Big 12 with 277.8 passing yards per game, and Leddie Brown ranks third in the Big 12 in rushing yards with 118.4 per game, but the Mountaineers have only eclipsed 27 points once in their past four games. And that was against Kansas.
Expect the Wildcats to create problems for them on defense, even with starting defensive back A.J. Parker unlikely to play.
If K-State can extend its streak of scoring via interceptions and punt returns, it will almost certainly win. But it’s hard to see West Virginia gift-wrapping points to the opposition like that.
This game feels like a coin flip. Give a slight edge to the home team with a more veteran quarterback.
West Virginia 24, Kansas State 23.
This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "K-State Wildcats vs. WVU Mountaineers: Prediction, game preview, time, line, TV."