Kansas Comes Eyeing Upset in Morgantown
Williams leads Jayhawks rushing attack
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MORGANTOWN -- West Virginia University football coach Dana Holgorsen had a very simple message for his No. 9 Mountaineers (4-0, 2-0 Big 12) as they prepare to play host to Kansas (2-3, 0-2).
"I've got to do a better job of making sure they understand that it's a four-quarter game, and we've got to go out there and keep playing hard in the second half," Holgorsen said during Monday's Big 12 Teleconference.
"I give Tech a lot of credit. They could have folded their tent at halftime, and they didn't. They came out and played really well and played hard. They played harder than we did and played better than we did. We're a veteran team, and we've got to understand that if we want to continue to win we've got to put four quarters together pretty much every time we play moving forward."
That begins at noon Saturday when the Jayhawks invade Milan Puskar Stadium.
A year ago, the Mountaineers played a superb second quarter and a solid fourth quarter, but were outscored by a 17-3 margin in Quarters 1 and 3 in route to a 56-34 win.
The Jayhawks are coming off of a 48-28 setback to No. 25 Oklahoma State on Homecoming Day inside David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
KU junior quarterback Carter Stanley made his first start of the 2018 season, throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Kwamie Lassiter II in the second quarter.
He was the third KU signalcaller to throw a touchdown pass this season.
"We just felt like he was going to give us the best chance going into the game," Kansas coach David Beaty said of Stanley. "I think his skill set fit us a little bit better with a very active defensive line and blitz package that possessed some speed and allowed us to escape more than maybe we could have with Peyton (Bender).
"We had a plan to put Peyton in the game, but the game just never really went in that direction."
Freshman running back Pooka Williams Jr. opened the second half with a 60-yard touchdown run, but it was not enough to keep the Jayhawks winless in league play. It did, however, helped the first-year player earn Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors.
"The way the game was going, big plays really were the tale of the tape at the end of the day," Beaty said. "We're clawing back in the game offensively a little bit here and there. And then, you know, we'd give up a big play that we just simply haven't seen that by our defense. That's something we're going to have to go back and really take a good look at and make sure that we've got our guys prepared for."
The problem is, however, Beaty and his staff have very little time to correct a lot of problems as they lead KU against a WVU offense led by Heisman Trophy hopeful Will Grier at quarterback.
"Let's face it, he will be the best quarterback we've faced and may very well be the best quarterback in the entire Big 12," Beaty said. "So, we've got our work cut out for us this week."
Grier heads into the Mountaineers' Homecoming game among the nation's leaders in touchdown passes (17), passing yards (1,487), and completion percentage (72.1 percent). Through his first four games the North Carolina native has completed 98 of his 136 attempts with only three interceptions.
WVU's offensive leader will face a test, however, as KU's defense shows eight different players with interceptions in 2018.
"We'll do the best we can," Beaty said. "The main thing about that offense is that they have a lot of firepower. They have great players, starting with Will, who is one of the best I have seen at that position in a long, long time."