By Jason Fleck
Every week the Big 12 standings have looked different and every week a Big 12 title contender is taken down. Halfway through the season we are now trying to figure out if the Big 12 is really as tough as it seems or are all the teams just that inconsistent? So far this season only one team has remained consistent for the entire season. That team is Kansas State. From their Big 12 opening game, taking out down preseason favorite Oklahoma to holding off Iowa State this past weekend to move to 6-0 overall and remaining at the top of the Big 12 standings with 3-0 record. Unlike every other team in the conference they haven’t wavered, you can expect the same team to show up every weekend. Collin Klein can be expected to hurt you with both his legs and arm and their defense actually plays defense. While West Virginia’s defense will hold nobody and the offense will have to be counted on to keep them in the game.
So this weekend when No. 4 Kansas State meet up against No. 17 West Virginia, it will be a matchup between the most consistent overall team against the most consistently poor defense in the Big 12 this year, then again it is the Big 12 so what can we really expect the outcome of this game to be? Most are expecting Collin Klein to literally run all over the West Virginia defense, just like he has against every other team. Others will be looking for the man under center for the Mountaineers, Geno Smith, to be back to his supernatural form after being held in check for the first time this season, passing for only one touchdown and putting up only 14 points against Texas Tech. Since Kansas State knows how to hold the ball and wear out opposing defenses and West Virginia hasn’t shown they can win without Smith having to carry them. The expectation will be that Smith won’t be on the field enough to have a big game, the Mountaineers’ defense will look even worse than normal, and the Wildcats will pull out another road win and gain even more ground in their inevitable run for a National Championship/Big 12 title.
Game Info:
#4 KANSAS STATE vs. #17 WEST VIRGINIA
SAT. OCT 20 – 6:00PM / FOX
MOUNTAINEER FIELD