Kansas State vs. West Virginia: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time, More
It has been a long, angry week and change since the Kansas State Wildcats took the field, but the rest period comes to a halt Thursday in Morgantown for a Big 12 encounter with the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The 7-2 Wildcats were last seen in early November getting throttled by TCU, 41-20. Gone is the notion that Bill Snyder's defense could stop any team in the land and that the Wildcats could seize the conference title.
Things are not as dramatic for Dana Holgorsen's Mountaineers, which appear on course for a winning season thanks to one of the nation's better aerial attacks.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The showdown is a classic strength versus strength encounter with plenty at stake for both sides. It should go without saying that Thursday has a great headlining act.
Weight of the World
The 6-4 Mountaineers go as senior quarterback Clint Trickett goes.
Trickett has completed 68.3 percent of his passes this season for 3,173 yards and 18 touchdowns to eight interceptions, but when the former member of the Florida State Seminoles has a bad game, the Mountaineers go down in a hurry.
Case in point, Trickett's last two outings, which both wound up as losses:
| TCU (L 31-30) | 15 | 26 | 162 | 57.7 | 1 | 2 |
| @Texas (L 33-16) | 36 | 49 | 248 | 73.5 | 0 | 1 |
Feel free to add in a 45-33 loss to Oklahoma in which Trickett tossed a pair of touchdowns and interceptions. Contrast that with the team's eye-opening upset of Baylor in which he completed 65.7 percent of his passes with three scores and one pick.
For his part, the experienced senior knows when his mistakes hurt the team, as revealed by comments after the loss to TCU, per Allan Taylor of the West Virginia MetroNews: “Last week the whole game-manager thing came up, and I thought I did a pretty terrible job of managing the game. Couple turnovers—I’ve got to be able to hold on to the ball and be more conscious of that.”
Trickett now has to deal with a Wildcats defense that ranks 21st in the nation with just 21.1 points allowed per game on average. Texas, which ranks slightly higher than Kansas State in that regard, held the Mountaineers in check in their last outing.
Should Trickett not return to form, a Wildcats team with everything to lose will capitalize and steal a win in his house.
Motivational Anger
Almost a full two weeks off is a lot of time to dwell on mistakes made in perhaps the biggest game of the season.
One can tell from comments made by linebacker Jonathan Truman, per Kellis Robinett of The Kansas City Star, that all involved are anxious to go out and put the debacle against the Horned Frogs behind them:
"We always do a great job in our bye weeks with our preparation. A lot of us were pretty emotional after the game. We were hurt and angered by the TCU game, and I think the maturity of this team has really evolved that emotion to motivation toward that next game at West Virginia.
We are eager to get back on the practice field and correct our mistakes and move on and use that motivation to propel us forward.
"
The Kansas State defense was uncharacteristically bad against the Horned Frogs, allowing four total touchdowns to quarterback Trevone Boykin and a pair of rushers to rush for a minimum of 120 yards.
Still, the globe has been down this path with the Wildcats before.
The last time Kansas State lost it was at the hands of then-No. 5 Auburn, 20-14. A little more than a week later, Snyder's team blew away UTEP, 58-28.
Now, West Virginia is no UTEP, but Kansas State can only hope that a similar bounce-back performance is in the cards against a tricky opponent. If not, the season will be fully lost.
When: Thursday, November 20, 7 p.m. ET
Where: Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia
Television: Fox Sports 1
Betting Lines (via Odds Shark):
- Over/Under: N/A
- Spread: EVEN
Team Injury Reports
| Travis Green | S | 10/29/2014 | is out indefinitely | Out | leg |
| Kyle Klein | WR | 08/28/2014 | will miss the entire season | Out | undisclosed |
| Charmeachealie Moore | LB | 10/29/2014 | will miss the remainder of the season | Out | undisclosed |
| Jared Barber | LB | 08/03/2014 | is out indefinitely | Out | knee |
| Travis Bell | CB | 09/25/2014 | has left the team | Out | personal |
| William Crest | QB | 10/24/2014 | will miss the remainder of the season | Out | shoulder |
| Jacky Marcellus | WR | 08/03/2014 | will miss the entire season | Out | knee |
| Brandon Napoleon | CB | 09/16/2014 | will miss the remainder of the season | Out | knee |
Injury reports per The Sports Network, via USA Today.
Prediction
Las Vegas is iffy on this one for good reason.
The recent run of form by the Mountaineers is discouraging. That said, Trickett can explode at any point and has done so against notable competition as many times as he has struggled.
What swings things in Kansas State's favor, other than a typically sound defense that is sure to be back to form, is a strong offense led by Jake Waters. Quietly a dual-threat quarterback, Waters has accounted for 20 total touchdowns this season and can keep Trickett off the field.
Limited opportunities against an elite defense is a recipe for disaster for the home team.
Prediction: Wildcats 34, Mountaineers 28
Statistics and info courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
