One of the three games during the kickoff of Big 12 play involved West Virginia football comfortably winning over a beleaguered Kansas team.
The West Virginia Mountaineers took another step forward in their push to make it back into the AP Top 25 after their 56-34 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks. With the Mountaineers entering the game as three touchdown favorites, this result does not come as much of a surprise.
This was the first Big 12 matchup of the season for both West Virginia and Kansas. Now, the Mountaineers head into their bye week on a high-note after three straight victories. The opening week loss to the Virginia Tech Hokies should now be out of sight and out of mind.
Against Kansas, the Mountaineers played and up and down sort of game. They took an early lead in the first half, leading 35-13 at halftime. However, Kansas started to roar back in the third quarter, going on a 14-0 run to start the second half. Quarterback Will Grier helped West Virginia put away the Jayhawks with a 21-7 run in the fourth quarter.
West Virginia had the opportunity to take advantage of playing one of the worst teams in the Big 12 to start conference action. Their next conference game comes against the TCU Horned Frogs, a team that just beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys by 13-points on the road.
At least West Virginia has an extended period of time to prepare for the TCU game on Oct. 7. This is the type of offense that TCU has to anticipate can beat them through the air and on the ground.
Now, let’s take a look at five overreactions from West Virginia’s win over Kansas in Week 4.
1. The ground game can carry the Mountaineers
Led by senior running back Justin Crawford and sophomore running back Kennedy McKoy, the Mountaineers put together quite the ground attack against the Kansas defense. The fact that West Virginia was able to keep pace with what the Jayhawks rushing attack was doing is very impressive.
Crawford led the Mountaineers in rushing yards with 125 on 18 carries and one touchdown. He has already eclipsed his rushing touchdown total from one season ago as he has improved from four touchdowns to six.
McKoy emerged as a real threat with 105 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the team in yards per carry at 8.8. The combination of Crawford of McKoy continues to prove to be one of the best backfield duos in the Big 12.
Will Grier also added another 51 yards and two touchdowns. In total, West Virginia rushed for nearly 300 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry. Kansas is not much of a test in that regard, but the Mountaineers were still able to showoff their versatility on offense.
2. Will Grier is not perfect
Entering the season, we expected Will Grier to take the West Virginia passing attack to the next level. So far, he is doing just that. Grier totaled four touchdowns on nearly 400 total yards last weekend.
However, after two huge performances against Delaware State and East Carolina, we did see Grier come back to earth. Eight of Grier’s 13 passing touchdowns on the season came against ECU and Delaware State. Only two came from the Kansas game.
Grier will get his biggest test of the year in two weeks against a strong TCU defense. That TCU defense just shut down one of the most productive quarterbacks in the country in Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph.
Not only can Grier continue to rely on the versatility of the offense that he commands, he can also show the Frogs why few defenses have been able to stop the Mountaineers. He will have to limit the interceptions thrown, though.
3. West Virginia cannot win the Big 12
The Big 12 has got off to an interesting start this year. No. 3 Oklahoma was on upset alert for almost all of their game with the Baylor Bears. Another team expected to compete in the Big 12, Oklahoma State, lost their conference opener.
West Virginia could establish themselves as the clear second-best team in the Big 12 if they defeat TCU. Since the Big 12 Championship Game was instilled this year, the second place team during the regular season can still win the conference crown.
However, if West Virginia cannot put away Kansas until the fourth quarter, they might run into problems against some of the better teams. Even the Texas Longhorns, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and Kansas State Wildcats still present big challenges.
Moreover, West Virginia has not defeated the Sooners since they joined the Big 12. Winning the conference would likely mean defeating the Sooners at least once. That is not an easy feat for any team in the country to pull off, let alone West Virginia.
4. WVU front seven is in trouble
The most concerning part of the Kansas game for the Mountaineers came from the ability, or inability, to stop the run. Kansas running back Khalil Herbert had a huge day, going for 291 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Herbert averaged 8.1 yards per carry on 36 attempts which shows how difficult it was for West Virginia’s defense to adjust. Entering the season, one of the bigger concerns for the Mountaineers was the inexperience on the defensive line.
There seems to be a bigger problem for West Virginia’s front seven than just the defensive line. Aside from a big performance from senior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton with 12 tackles and one interception, the front seven struggled.
Meanwhile, the West Virginia secondary did play very well. Senior cornerback Mike Daniels Jr. returned one interception for a touchdown. Kansas quarterback Peyton Bender tossed more picks than touchdowns.
5. David Sills V is the best receiver no one has heard of
With all of the talent in the backfield for the Mountaineers, the receiving corps might be the best part of the offense. Highlighted by huge talents like Ka’Raun White, Gary Jennings, and David Sills V, Grier has plenty of weapons to throw to.
Sills V had the biggest day of any WVU receiver in Week 4. He caught eight passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Both of Grier’s touchdown passes went to Sills V. Jennings was the second leading receiver with 75 yards.
In total, Sills V has caught 26 passes for 396 yards and seven touchdowns. Last year, he had seven catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns during the course of the entire season. Anytime you nearly pass your total number of receiving yards from an entire season in one game, you’re doing something right.
Next: Week 4 College Football Playoff Projections
To say that Sills V was not expected to make much noise this year is an understatement. However, he is turning into one of the biggest breakout stars not only in the Big 12, but in the nation. The TCU game is another chance to show what he can do.