MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — To move forward from its first loss in Big 12 play and avoid slipping in the conference standings a second straight week, West Virginia will have to do something it hasn’t had much luck with in six seasons under head coach Neal Brown — defeat a ranked opponent.
The Mountaineers welcome No. 17 Kansas State for Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. FOX-televised contest at Milan Puskar Stadium in what marks Brown’s 20th matchup with a ranked foe since taking over ahead of the 2019 season. WVU is just 3-16 in the previous 19 and has last eight straight against ranked opponents, including last week’s 28-16 home setback against unbeaten Iowa State.
“The good thing is when you have a disappointing performance, you’re able to come back out and play,” Brown said. “We have another quality opponent coming in Saturday night.”
Things hardly get any easier against Kansas State (5-1, 2-1). Coached by Chris Klieman, the Wildcats have thrived on establishing the run and preventing the opposition from doing just that — something the Mountaineers (3-3, 2-1) strive to do first and foremost offensively.
“They’re very similar in their approach and style to Iowa State,” Brown said. “They’re a tough, physical, really discipline football team. They’re used to winning. They’ve had success on the road as well. They won their last time here [2022]. Coach Kleiman and his staff doing a really nice job in all phases.”
Save for a 29-point loss at BYU one month ago, the Wildcats have been impressive, posting one-score wins against Tulane and most recently Colorado last week, while handling UT Martin, Arizona and Oklahoma State in convincing fashion.
K-State leads the Big 12 in rush defense and its 71.7 yards allowed on average ranks second best nationally. The Wildcats also possess the league leader in rushing, tailback DJ Giddens, whose 786 yards are fifth best among all FBS players and have come on an average of 7.3 yards per carry.
Quarterback Avery Johnson is also a threat in the run game and ranks second on the team with 306 rushing yards to go with three touchdowns. Johnson has been solid as a passer as well, completing 92-of-149 passes for 1,103 yards with 11 touchdowns against five interceptions.
“Speed and extending plays. That goes hand in hand with a guy like that,” WVU defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley said. “He does that as well as anybody.”
Wideout Jayce Brown is a primary target through the air and easily leads the team with 23 receptions for 398 yards and three touchdowns.
The Wildcats’ disruptive 3-3-5 defense has registered 18 sacks, and the 6.5 from defensive end Brendan Mott are tied for seventh nationally.
“They do a good job with some of their twists and pressure of getting vertical, especially in the B gap,” Brown said. “They play two big noses that do a really good job getting push. They play four ends, but their two ends, especially 38 [Mott], are really active. They get what I call strain sacks and strain pressure. Maybe they don’t get it on their initial move or secondary move, but they get it because they outwork those guys. We have to make sure that we’re playing at their level or a higher level of strain.”
The Mountaineers have three players with similar rushing totals in tailbacks Jahiem White and CJ Donaldson and quarterback Garrett Greene.
White’s 398 yards and five touchdowns lead the group, while Donaldson has 378 yards and five scores. Greene adds 382 yards and three TDs.
Greene has endured struggles passing of late and has six interceptions over his last four games having thrown two picks on three separate occasions. For the season, the senior has completed 90-of-158 attempts for 1,267 yards with eight touchdowns.
Defensive lineman T.J. Jackson has been the Mountaineers’ most productive defender and is 10th nationally with 9.5 tackles for a loss. However, Jackson, who also has a team-best 3.5 sacks, is questionable for the matchup after suffering an injury against the Cyclones.
“They’re not just reading and reacting. They’re a penetrating defensive line and just starting to watch some of the coverage things they’re doing,” Klieman said. “A lot of veteran guys and that’s the thing you see now with transfer portal and kids coming back — every team seems to have a lot of older players.”
Klieman and Brown have split four previous matchups at their respective programs, and Brown’s first win over a ranked foe during his WVU tenure came against the Wildcats in 2020.
Both coaches are in their sixth season. Brown has a 34-32 record over that time, while Klieman is 44-25.
“It’s a tough atmosphere to go into. We know it’s a really good atmosphere and really good football,” Klieman said. “They’re going to give us everything. Every week is a different battle in the Big 12. It doesn’t matter if it’s home and doesn’t matter if it’s away. You cannot be seduced by success. If you’re seduced by success, you’re going to get knocked off. Enjoy that win for it’s usually 24 hours, but down to 12 hours this time, and it’s time to get back to work. Hit reset and go again.”