The Kansas State Wildcats completely shut down the vaunted West Virginia Mountaineers offense en route to a 55-14 victory on the road Saturday night. The victory seems to firmly place Kansas State in the national discussion, as the Wildcats also have marquee wins over Oklahoma, Iowa State and Miami.
Kansas State vs. West Virginia final score: Wildcats shut down Mountaineers, 55-14
The Kansas State Wildcats came up big on the national stage Saturday night, blowing out the West Virginia Mountaineers 55-14 in Morgantown.
Justin K. Aller
While it's typically the Mountaineers that put up big passing numbers, Wildcats quarterback Collin Klein was unusually prolific through the air on Saturday night. The senior carved up West Virginia's secondary for a season-high 323 passing yards and three touchdowns in addition to rushing for 41 yards and four touchdowns.
Considered a possible Heisman candidate coming into this game, West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith will likely have a hard time convincing voters after this week’s clunker. The senior completed 21-of-32 passes for just 143 yards, he threw his first two interceptions of the season and he accumulated -15 yards on seven rushing attempts.
Other than a kickoff return touchdown by Anthony Cantele, it's difficult to find anything positive about West Virginia's performance in this game. The team totaled just 14 points for the second consecutive game, a miserable figure compared to the 52 points the Mountaineers averaged over their first five games.
Kansas State is now 7-0 this year, while West Virginia has dropped consecutive Big 12 conference games in brutal fashion. Over the past two weeks, the Mountaineers have been outscored 104-28.
Box Score Hero: Klein was the big star of the game with 364 yards and seven touchdowns through the air and on the ground combined, but Kansas State wideouts Tyler Lockett (nine catches, 194 yards, two touchdowns) and Chris Harper (six catches, 96 yards, one touchdown) stood out as well.
Rankings Ramifications: Given that No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Florida and No. 3 Oregon all won this week, it’s hard to imagine Kansas State moving up from the No. 4 spot in spite of its blowout win. Expect the Mountaineers to fall hard after a second straight lopsided defeat, though.
But Did They Cover? West Virginia was actually favored by four points to win the game, so obviously the Mountaineers didn’t cover.
For More On This Game: For more on K-State football, visit Kansas State blog Bring On The Cats, plus SB Nation Kansas City. For more on WVU football, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket, plus SB Nation Pittsburgh.
Next Week's Schedule: The Wildcats are hosting the Texas Tech Red Raiders next week, while West Virginia has a bye before facing TCU on Nov. 3.
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