Neal Brown and West Virginia football are coming off an electric 44-27 victory at home, but will happen when they travel to Kansas?
The West Virginia Mountaineers didn’t play a perfect game against NC State, but they did put forth a perfect effort. And that was one of our keys to victory last week, along with starting fast and capitalizing on mistakes. But what should we expect when they take on Les Miles and the new-and-improved Kansas Jayhawks? We’ve got three bold predictions.
Austin Kendall looked like a star against the Wolfpack, completing 27-of-40 attempts for 272 passing yards and three touchdowns. His lone interception was a bad play all around — the pocket broke down, Kendall stood in there flat-footed, and he delivered the pass late — but other than that, he quarterbacked a near-perfect game.
A couple new starters along the offensive line breathed life into a unit that was getting whooped earlier in the season, and we’ll see if that’ll continue against the Jayhawks. Miles’ defenses have typically been excellent, but that was at LSU where he was picking from the top high school players in the country; things are a bit different in Lawrence, KS.
The defensive line played a fierce game, too, setting the tone from the first possession of the game. Darius and Dante Stills are quickly being labeled the, “Bash Brothers,” after their efforts feasting in opponents’ backfields, but they’re not the only ‘Eers eating. Jordan Jefferson, Reuben Jones and Jeffery Pooler have all contributed one way or another, whether they’ve been taking on double teams to free up teammates or making tackles themselves, along with Reese Donahue and Stone Wolfley; this unit is deep.
With Brown and Co. heading back on the road to face the Jayhawks, there are a handful of things the Mountaineers need to do. We’ve got bold predictions on three of those efforts.