Kansas State-West Virginia football preview
When/where: 6 p.m. Thursday at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, W.Va.
TV/radio: Fox Sports 1; WHB (810 AM)
The series: K-State leads 3-1
The line: West Virginia by 3
KANSAS STATE (7-2, 5-1 Big 12)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Aug. 30 | Stephen F. Austin | W, 55-16 |
Sept. 6 | at Iowa State | W, 32-28 |
Sept. 18 | Auburn | L, 20-14 |
Sept. 27 | UTEP | W, 58-28 |
Oct. 4 | Texas Tech | W, 45-13 |
Oct. 18 | at Oklahoma | W, 31-30 |
Oct. 25 | Texas | W, 23-0 |
Nov. 1 | Oklahoma State | W, 48-14 |
Nov. 8 | at TCU | L, 41-20 |
Thursday | at West Virginia | 6 p.m. |
Nov. 29 | Kansas | 3 p.m. |
Dec. 6 | at Baylor | TBA |
WEST VIRGINIA (6-4, 4-3 Big 12)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Aug. 30 | vs. Alabama* | L, 33-23 |
Sept. 6 | Towson | W, 54-0 |
Sept. 13 | at Maryland | W, 40-37 |
Sept. 20 | Oklahoma | L, 45-33 |
Oct. 4 | Kansas | W, 33-14 |
Oct. 11 | at Texas Tech | W, 37-34 |
Oct. 18 | Baylor | W, 41-27 |
Oct. 25 | at Oklahoma State | W, 34-10 |
Nov. 1 | TCU | L, 31-30 |
Nov. 8 | at Texas | L, 33-16 |
Thursday | Kansas State | 6 p.m. |
Nov. 29 | at Iowa State | TBA |
*at Atlanta
What’s at stake
Both teams will be fighting for bowl positioning. West Virginia also wants to send its seniors out with a win in their last home game. K-State is trying to keep pace in the Big 12 championship race.
Cheers if …
K-State scores first. On the road, against a team with offensive weapons, it is imperative that the Wildcats play from ahead early.
Jeers if …
Charles Jones and DeMarcus Robinson fail to combine for 100 rushing yards. This is one of the softer run defenses they will face. They need to take advantage.
Three things about West Virginia
1 Quarterback Clint Trickett ranks sixth nationally with 3,173 passing yards. His best game of the season came against Maryland, when he threw for 511 yards and four touchdowns. His main target is Kevin White, who averages more than 120 receiving yards.
2 The Mountaineers climbed into the top 15 after a 6-2 start, which included a victory over Baylor. But back-to-back losses to TCU and Texas have dropped them out of the top 25, though they are still receiving votes in some polls.
3 Dana Holgorsen had the highest of praise for K-State coach Bill Snyder this week, saying, “He is the most respected guy in our profession, bar none. He just does it the right way, developing a culture of good family values and a program of guys that work hard, develop depth. They play the right way and do the right things. They don’t beat themselves. I could go on and on.”
Key matchup
K-State’s front four vs. Clint Trickett: Unlike most quarterbacks in the Big 12, Trickett prefers to stay in the pocket and throw, rarely scrambling before he has exhausted all passing options. That gives the Wildcats an opportunity to establish a pass rush against him. For the first time in weeks, Ryan Mueller and company can attack the quarterback without fear of getting beat by keepers. Trickett can be turnover prone, so K-State needs to take advantage and pressure him into mistakes.
KANSAS STATE OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 16 | Tyler Lockett | 5-11 | 175 | Sr. |
WR | 14 | Curry Sexton | 5-11 | 183 | Sr. |
LT | 55 | Cody Whitehair | 6-4 | 309 | Jr. |
LG | 77 | Boston Stiverson | 6-4 | 312 | Jr. |
C | 66 | B.J. Finney | 6-4 | 303 | Sr. |
RG | 68 | Luke Hayes | 6-6 | 295 | Jr. |
RT | 65 | Matt Kleinsorge | 6-5 | 306 | Jr. |
TE | 85 | Zach Trujillo | 6-5 | 256 | Sr. |
WR | 6 | Deante Burton | 6-2 | 205 | So. |
QB | 15 | Jake Waters | 6-1 | 210 | Sr. |
RB | 20 | DeMarcus Robinson | 5-7 | 209 | Sr. |
K | 16 | Matthew McCrane | 5-10 | 165 | Fr. |
KANSAS STATE DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 44 | Ryan Mueller | 6-2 | 245 | Sr. |
DT | 60 | Will Geary | 6-9 | 290 | Fr. |
DT | 95 | Travis Britz | 6-4 | 293 | Jr. |
DE | 75 | Jordan Willis | 6-5 | 250 | So. |
LB | 9 | Elijah Lee | 6-3 | 214 | Fr. |
LB | 35 | Will Davis | 6-0 | 223 | So. |
LB | 21 | Jonathan Truman | 5-11 | 219 | Sr. |
CB | 33 | Morgan Burns | 5-11 | 195 | Jr. |
SS | 22 | Dante Barnett | 6-1 | 186 | Jr. |
FS | 20 | Dylan Schellenberg | 6-9 | 195 | Sr. |
CB | 7 | Danzel McDaniel | 6-1 | 205 | Jr. |
P | 14 | Nick Walsh | 5-10 | 198 | Fr. |
WEST VIRGINIA OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 5 | Mario Alford | 5-9 | 177 | Sr. |
IR | 6 | Daikel Shorts | 6-1 | 198 | So. |
LT | 57 | Adam Pankey | 6-5 | 302 | So. |
LG | 67 | Quinton Spain | 6-5 | 332 | Sr. |
C | 65 | Tyler Orlosky | 6-4 | 301 | So. |
RG | 64 | Mark Glowinski | 6-5 | 312 | Sr. |
RT | 78 | Marquis Lucas | 6-4 | 314 | Jr. |
IR | 10 | Jordan Thompson | 5-7 | 165 | Jr. |
WR | 11 | Kevin White | 6-3 | 210 | Sr. |
QB | 9 | Clint Trickett | 6-2 | 186 | Sr. |
RB | 7 | Rushel Shell | 5-10 | 215 | So. |
K | 86 | Josh Lambert | 5-11 | 215 | So. |
WEST VIRGINIA DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 97 | Noble Nwachukwu | 6-2 | 265 | So. |
NT | 93 | Kyle Rose | 6-4 | 294 | Jr. |
DE | 4 | Shaq Riddick | 6-6 | 242 | Sr. |
LB | 9 | KJ Dillon | 6-1 | 206 | Jr. |
LB | 37 | Wes Tonkery | 6-2 | 223 | Sr. |
LB | 35 | Nick Kwiatoski | 6-2 | 236 | Jr. |
LB | 20 | Edward Muldrow | 6-3 | 205 | Jr. |
CB | 7 | Daryl Worley | 6-1 | 199 | So. |
FS | 6 | Dravon Henry | 5-11 | 198 | Fr. |
SS | 8 | Karl Joseph | 5-11 | 196 | Jr. |
CB | 16 | Terrell Chestnut | 5-10 | 190 | Jr. |
P | 91 | Nick O’Toole | 6-4 | 223 | Jr. |
Kellis Robinett’s pick: Kansas State 28-27
West Virginia is favored by a field goal, but it lacks the defensive personnel to shut down K-State the way TCU did. As long as the Wildcats don’t fall behind early, they have what it takes to win a close one on the road.
Kellis Robinett, krobinett@kcstar.com
This story was originally published November 19, 2014 at 9:53 AM with the headline "Kansas State-West Virginia football preview."