Three-minute preview: Kansas football at West Virginia

When/where: 6 p.m. Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, W.Va.

TV/radio: ESPN2; KCSP (610 AM)

The series: West Virginia leads 4-1

The line: West Virginia by 34  1/2

What’s at stake

Kansas will look to avoid a 40-game road losing streak and a 43-game skid away from Memorial Stadium in Lawrence when it faces 14th-ranked West Virginia. The Jayhawks also have lost 21 straight games against FBS teams and 17 in a row against Big 12 opponents.

Cheers if …

KU’s offensive line bounces back. After a promising game against Oklahoma State, the Jayhawks’ line struggled last week against Oklahoma as the team mustered 49 rushing yards on 28 carries. KU coach David Beaty is optimistic center Joe Gibson will be back from a neck injury, which would potentially help a young group that has played better with the junior in there. A few times last week, KU couldn’t run the ball effectively when it had five blockers against five Oklahoma defenders in the box. If that continues, it’ll only make it tougher on the Jayhawks’ passing game, as opponents can safely commit more players to the outside without fear of getting gashed by KU’s run game.

Jeers if …

KU is unable to stop negative momentum. The Jayhawks were competitive with Oklahoma for 20 minutes before Montell Cozart’s interception seemed to sap the team’s enthusiasm. From there, KU failed to score offensively, while Oklahoma had seven consecutive touchdown drives. It’s probably not a leap to say that the Jayhawks’ 39-game road losing streak has created a bit of a “here we go again” mindset when bad things happen on the road, and one sign of improvement could simply be to build back up momentum after it is lost in Morgantown.

Jesse Newell’s pick: West Virginia 41-10

Though the 34 1/2-point spread seems high, that number is partly factoring in just how much worse the Jayhawks have played on the road compared to home. One would figure that the Jayhawks show a more competitive game at least once away from Lawrence this season, but the more it doesn’t happen, the harder it is to believe that a magic switch will get flipped. A lot will come down to KU’s offense once again. The team will go up against a West Virginia defense that is widely considered as a top-two unit in the Big 12. The Jayhawks still lead the nation with 27 turnovers, and one would figure that ball security will play a huge role in determining whether KU can remain competitive Saturday.

Three things about West Virginia

1 Last week’s 37-20 loss at Oklahoma State broke a string of seven straight games in which West Virginia had held Big 12 opponents to 25 points or fewer.

2 The Mountaineers have won 11 of their last 13 games.

3 West Virginia has rushed for at least 150 yards in 18 of its last 21 games and is averaging 207 rushing yards this season.

Key matchup

KU quarterback Montell Cozart vs. West Virginia’s defensive looks: Cozart has earned the starting job based on his better understanding of KU’s offense, though that didn’t result in much production during Oklahoma’s 56-3 victory last week. He’ll have to be better not only reading the defense but also with execution, as he missed an open receiver on a deep ball early against Oklahoma and seemed to let the disappointment affect his play after that. Like the rest of his teammates, Cozart will need to have better road resilience if KU wants to have a chance at the upset.

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Three-minute preview: Kansas football at West Virginia."