One of the highest scoring games of the weekend is expected when the Kansas Jayhawks take on the West Virginia Mountaineers. Both of these teams sit near the bottom of the Big 12 but are hope their dynamic players on offense can lead them to victory. Kansas is only 1-5 in conference games and has lost four of their last five overall. They are coming off a 33-32 loss on their home field against UCF, despite quarterback Isaiah Marshall throwing for 210 yards and rushing for another 125 yards. West Virginia is only 2-4 in conference games, but they have won two of their last three games. They lost a high-scoring game to Texas Tech in their last contest, 53-48, but 303 yards passing from Michael Hawkins Jr. had the Mountaineers up seven heading into the fourth quarter before the defense allowed 12 unanswered points.
West Virginia has excelled this season in large part to their offense and in spite of their defense. West Virginia ranks sixth nationally in rushing offense, averaging 263.6 yards per game. The main contributor has been running back Cam Cook. Cook has run for 1072 yards and eight touchdowns this season, making up for a lack of defense shown by the Mountaineers. West Virginia has been especially poor against the pass, ranking 138th in college football with 322.8 passing yards per game. To provide the full picture, West Virginia allows 501 total yards and 34.6 points per game.
Kansas’s quarterback, Marshall, should be able to excel on the road against West Virginia. He has thrown for 1,716 yards and 11 touchdowns, and he has improved significantly throughout the season. That said, he will need to limit his turnovers if Kansas wants to come away with a win; Kansas has a -5 turnover differential. Marshall is coming off a clean game against UCF in which he did not turn the ball over. If Kansas can limit turnovers, the Jayhawks should be able to keep this game close considering West Virginia’s defensive struggles. I’ll side with the Jayhawks and the points in what should be a relatively close fought contest.
Kansas vs West Virginia prediction: Kansas Jayhawks +3 (-110) is available at time of publishing. Playable to +1.5 (-110).
