Last week was one of the best performances of the 2022 season for #15 Kansas State (5-2, 7-3) in their 31-3 blowout victory over Baylor. With the win, and Texas’s loss to TCU, the Wildcats are back in control of their own destiny to get to the Big 12 Championship.

First, they will have to get past West Virginia (2-5, 4-6) in Morgantown, where K-State hasn’t won since 2014.

It was announced during Tuesday’s mid-week press conference by head coach Chris Klieman that senior quarterback Adrian Martinez will not suit up for this weekend’s game, but he is not done for the season contrary to rumors.

Klieman said that he could play as soon as next week against Kansas if things go right. After their win Saturday, Klieman said he and Klein would entertain a quarterback battle moving forward.

It will once again be the Will Howard show this Saturday, however, as the junior quarterback will make his second start and fourth appearance this season. This weekend will also be the second time he faces the Mountaineers in Morgantown. Junior Jaren Lewis and redshirt freshman Juke Rubley will both be listed as the backups, according to Klieman.

In his first game against WVU in 2020, Howard made his first career start and struggled severely. Quarterback Skylar Thompson went down with an injury the previous week against Kansas and Howard took care of business to help them win their fourth straight game. However, West Virgnia was a huge step up in competition as he went just 19-for-37 with 184 yards and three interceptions. He also ran the ball seven times for a dreadful negative nine rushing yards.

It has been proven, however, that the real issue behind Howard’s struggles was both his inexperience and former offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham calling the plays. With new offensive coordinator Collin Klein now dialing it up for the Cats, Howard’s level of play has reached heights no one could have seen coming.

Howard has completed 63.1% of his passes so far with 717 passing yards and a TD-INT ratio of 9-1. Howard has also been running the ball a lot less and become more of a pure pocket-passer.

Last week’s win was historical for many reasons for K-State. It was the third time this season they held a Big 12 opponent to no touchdowns. They haven’t accomplished this feat since the 2001 season.

Running back Deuce Vaughn reached the 1,000-yard mark last weekend as well. Vaughn became the third player in school history to have multiple 1,000-yard seasons (Darren Sproles - 2002, 2003, and 2004; Daniel Thomas – 2009, 2010).

This week could be historical as well. A win would give K-State their fifth road conference win. Only two teams have won that many conference road games with those being in 1998 and 2012.

This week, it will be important for the Cats to get off to a hot start, which they have done very well this season. They have only trailed at the half in one game this season (vs. Texas) and have a point differential of +97 in the first half, which is first in the Big 12.

Shutting down West Virginia’s pass attack will be a crucial factor in Saturday’s game as well. Unfortunately, K-State will be without junior safety Kobe Savage for the rest of the season after suffering an injury at Baylor.

Stopping the Mountaineers’ passing game will also be a challenge because we don’t really know who will be throwing passes. Senior quarterback JT Daniels had just 65 passing yards with no touchdowns and an interception against Oklahoma last weekend before he was pulled for sophomore Garrett Greene in the final drive of the first half.

Greene immediately provided a spark for the offense and led them to a touchdown before the break. He also led West Virginia to a 23-20 comeback victory for their first ever win over the Sooners in Morgantown.

The sophomore killed OU with his legs gaining 119 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, but he also made a terrific back-shoulder throw in the corner of the endzone for a touchdown as well.

K-State will get a taste of their own medicine, should the Mountaineers go with Greene in facing a quarterback whose money mainly is from his legs. However, the tides have turned with Howard unlikely getting a ton of designed runs.

The Wildcats’ defense hasn’t been great against opposing quarterbacks that can scramble well. They have tightened up since allowing 97 rushing yards to Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt, though. They only allowed 14 rushing yards to Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders, who is notorious for being able to extend plays with his legs.

As for Daniels, he is a pure pocket-passer. He has been trying to prove that he is a winning quarterback after being benched at Georgia last season. However, he hasn’t been playing close to championship-level ball this year.

He has nine interceptions which is the second-most in the Big 12 and just 13 touchdowns. Daniels is only averaging 210 passing yards per game despite averaging the second-most attempts in the conference, and his pass efficiency rating of 122.9 is the second-lowest in the Big 12.

The Mountaineers have one of the best pass-catchers in the conference, though, with redshirt juniors Bryce Ford-Wheaton and Sam James each over 600 yards on the year. Ford-Wheaton leads the team with 58 receptions, seven touchdowns and 64.1 yards per game. James leads the team in yards per catch with 15.2 and has three scores with 62.4 yards per contest.

K-State cornerbacks Ekow Boye-Doe and Julius Brents were both injured in last week’s game, but Klieman said they are both good to go. They will have their hands full with Ford-Wheaton and James, but you can make an argument the Cats’ CBs are the best duo in the Big 12.

As for their overall running game, West Virginia doesn’t have much of one. They average just 165.5 yards on the ground per game which is eighth in the league.

A guy you will likely see get most of the carries at tailback, though, is redshirt sophomore Tony Mathis Jr. Freshman CJ Donaldson was a pretty solid ball-carrier for WVU this season, but he suffered a season-ending injury against TCU (who would have guessed?).

Mathis is averaging 4.5 yards per carry and 68.1 yards per game. It will be interesting to see how they utilize him and Greene in the run game together, should Greene get the start.

Prediction: There is a lot of dysfunction surrounding West Virginia football at the moment. Earlier this week, the university fired now former athletic director Shane Lyons. Head football coach Neal Brown’s future job status has been up in the air for the past season-and-a-half. With the team unable to reach a bowl game, it’s unlikely that he returns for 2023.

Whether or not the team is fully bought in to the program right now is certainly questionable. Does this team even want to spend another five weeks away from their friends and family just to play Southern Kentucky State in the Frito Lay Veteran’s Fruit Salad Bowl (both the team and the bowl game are made up for comedic reasons just so we are clear)?

The Cats certainly have more to play for with a chance to play in the conference championship game on the line. With their ability to consistently get off to fast starts, and West Virginia coming into the game with the worst offense and defense in the conference statistically, I think the Cats will roll despite some thinking this could be “trap game” of sorts.

There are certainly signs of “trap game” written on the wall, though. This game is across the country at a weird early kickoff time at 1 p.m. on ESPN+ against a team that is not good.  Especially with the Sunflower Showdown coming next week on national television with a night kickoff time. K-State could overlook them. However, I don’t think they will. I have confidence in Klieman creating a solid gameplan and Howard executing it well.

K-State 38, West Virginia 21.