No. 12 Kansas State is now 8-2 and 6-1 in the Big 12 after out-uglying West Virginia, 26-20, remaining in the running for a New Year’s bowl and perhaps even a Big 12 title, should things break KSU’s way. Receiver Tyler Lockett led the way with 196 yards on 10 catches, plus a 43-yard breeze of a punt return touchdown.
Kansas State vs. West Virginia final score: 3 things we learned from KSU’s 26-20 win
The Wildcats leave Morgantown with a W and are on course for a big battle with Baylor.
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Jake Waters finished with 400 yards passing for K-State. His counterpart, Clint Trickett, suffered a benching after throwing two picks; replacement Skyler Howard nearly doubled Trickett's yards per attempt and threw exclusively to Mountaineers, helping pull WVU from a 20-3 deficit to a close loss.
Both teams left plenty of points on the table, with a missed field goal for each and five total turnovers (four by WVU). When the ball starts taking silly bounces, that tends to benefit Bill Snyder’s Wildcats.
Three things we learned
1. The Big 12’s Playoff odds abide. Short-term, this outcome is good for TCU, which has beaten K-State, and bad for Baylor, which has lost to WVU. Considering the Frogs and Bears are No. 5 and 7, respectively, in the Playoff rankings, any little alteration matters.
But this might end up best for Baylor. The Bears face the Wildcats in the Big 12’s final week, and that’s now likely to give the Bears a chance to beat a top-10 team. If both Baylor and TCU have beaten KSU and Oklahoma, expect the Bears’ head-to-head win over TCU to make the difference for the committee. And if Baylor beats a Wildcats team ranked No. 9 or so, that might top whatever No. 6 Ohio State would do against a Wisconsin team likely ranked in the teens.
That’s assuming nobody drops an upset. For now, this turns out well for the conference, which gets to keep two teams with wins against quality teams in the running and likely gets a marquee game on conference title Saturday despite not having a conference title game.
2. This week in Kansas State Somehow Wins ... The Wildcats have long been known as the team that defies all statistical norms, weekly and annually baffling the experts by winning despite a lack of recruiting ratings or impressive yardage totals. Thursday night’s entry: winning at Morgantown despite rushing for all of three yards on 28 carries, including sacks and kneeldowns. (It wouldn’t have been more otherwise; Waters led the way with 13 total.)
The simplest explanation: Lockett is really good.
3. The West Virginia turnaround limps along. A month ago, West Virginia ranked No. 20 in the AP poll at 6-2, with losses to only Alabama and Oklahoma. The Eers have since lost three in a row.
That’s no collapse, though it’s not ideal. If you count a dud on the road against an improving Texas as a loss against a decent team, WVU hasn’t dropped any games it really shouldn’t have. Last year’s 4-8 still looks like an anomaly for the Dana Holgorsen era, but 2011’s 10-3 does as well. If WVU finishes with seven wins, as it did in 2012, how much goodwill remains for Holgo’s 2014 season?
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