NCAAF Game Recap - Kansas at West Virginia
Sat Oct 6, 2018 12:00 PM EDT

Bama
65
Ark
31
F
Vand
13
UGA
41
F
Ind
26
OSU
49
F
Clem
63
Wake
3
F
LSU
19
Fla
27
F
ND
45
VaTec
23
F
Tex
48
Okla
45
F
Aub
9
MissSt
23
F
Kans
22
WVU
38
F
Wash
31
UCLA
24
F
SMU
20
UCF
48
F
KY
14
TxAM
20
F OT
Utah
40
Stan
21
F
MD
21
Mich
42
F
Neb
24
Wisc
41
F
FlaSt
27
MiaFL
28
F
NW
29
MSU
19
F
AzSt
21
Colo
28
F
BC
23
NCSt
28
F
IASt
48
OkSt
42
F
GASt
20
Troy
37
F
Tuls
26
Hou
41
F
GATec
66
Lou
31
F
MidTN
34
Marsh
24
F
UtSt
45
BYU
20
F
E Mi
24
WestMI
27
F
ECU
6
Temp
49
F
MIZ
35
SCar
37
F
Ill
38
Rut
17
F
Tul
21
Cin
37
F
Buff
34
C Mi
24
F
Syr
37
Pitt
44
F OT
Elon
27
JMU
24
F
SFA
21
SamHu
54
F
NIU
24
Ball
16
F
SDSU
19
Boise
13
F
SoAl
13
GaSo
48
F
Navy
7
AF
35
F
Iowa
48
MIN
31
F
K St
34
Bayl
37
F
BGSU
36
Toled
52
F
SoFL
58
UMass
42
F
Ohio
27
Kent
26
F
MiaOH
41
Akr
17
F
NM
50
UNLV
14
F
ULMon
21
Miss
70
F
JacSt
56
E Ky
7
F
OD
33
FlAtl
52
F
ULLaf
42
TxSt
27
F
UTSA
20
Rice
3
F
UConn
14
Mem
55
F
UAB
28
LT
7
F
NorTx
27
UTEP
24
F
Lib
41
NMS
49
F
WaSt
56
OreSt
37
F
Cal
17
Ariz
24
F
ColSt
42
SJSU
30
F
Fres
21
NEV
3
F
Wyo
13
Hawaii
17
F
App
35
ArkSt
9
F

Oct 6, 2018, 12:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Kansas (2-4)

7

0

7

8

22

(9) West Virginia (5-0)

14

7

7

10

38

Grier has 4 TDs, 4 turnovers, No. 9 WVU beats Kansas 38-22
Sat Oct 6, 2018 4:59 PM

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) One messy game didn't diminish West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen's confidence in Heisman Trophy hopeful Will Grier.

Grier's four turnovers overshadowed a four-touchdown performance in No. 9 West Virginia's 38-22 victory over Kansas on Saturday.

West Virginia (5-0, 3-0 Big 12) has won its first five games for the second time in three seasons.

"We'll take the sloppy win and go home," Holgorsen said.

The heavily-favored Mountaineers had no trouble moving the ball, but Grier's efforts to throw into extra coverage near the goal line cost his team plenty of points.

Grier was intercepted three times in the first half either in the end zone or at the goal line, two of them by cornerback Hasan Defense. All three of Grier's interceptions occurred when West Virginia had driven inside the Kansas 15-yard line.

"He has the confidence to make any throw and every throw," Holgorsen said. "That's why he's a hell of a quarterback, but those windows become small. I thought their defenders did a better job of attacking the ball than our receivers did."

Kansas (2-4, 0-3) entered the game leading the Big 12 with eight interceptions, including three returned for touchdowns.

Grier said Kansas did a good job of mixing up its defensive schemes near the goal line. West Virginia saw its streak of 15 straight scores inside the opponents' 20-yard line snapped.

"We've got to be better in the red zone," Grier said. "I got to be better on not forcing things. It will be fixed going forward."

Grier also had a third-quarter fumble on a scramble. West Virginia had committed six total turnovers in its previous four games.

Kansas was limited to 286 yards of offense but stayed in the game until late. Peyton Bender hit Jeremiah Booker with a 35-yard pass early in the third quarter and Khalil Herbert, who had a career-high 291 yards rushing against West Virginia last season, followed with a 31-yard TD run to pull the Jayhawks within 21-14.

Grier made good on West Virginia's only other possession of the quarter, hitting running back Martell Pettaway with a 12-yard scoring toss.

After Kansas turned the ball over on downs in its own territory late in the game, Grier found David Sills with a 17-yard TD strike with 2:20 left for a 38-14 lead. Grier finished 28 of 41 for 332 yards.

Kansas coach David Beaty praised his defense for forcing Grier to attempt mostly short throws.

"I don't recall them having a big bomb of a catch that they are known for just about every game," Beaty said.

West Virginia freshman Leddie Brown caught a 15-yard scoring pass from Grier and also had a 1-yard TD run, both in the first quarter. Brown finished with 11 carries for 107 yards.

Kansas freshman Pooka Williams, the Big 12's leading rusher, was held under 100 yards for the third straight game. He had 12 carries for 65 yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas: Goal-line stands on defense kept this one from becoming a rout, but the result was the Jayhawks' 13th straight Big 12 loss. They haven't won a league road game in 10 years.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers put together their best second half scoring in Big 12 play this season after the first-half turnover troubles. They went scoreless on offense after halftime in a 42-34 win at Texas Tech and failed to score over the final 22 minutes in a 35-6 win over Kansas State .

POLL IMPLICATIONS

West Virginia, ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 2012, should be OK despite the messy showing.

GRIER THE TACKLER

On one of his interceptions, Grier chased down Defense after a 60-yard return. Otherwise Defense would have gone for a touchdown.

MARRIAGE PROPOSAL

West Virginia defensive lineman Reese Donahue proposed to his girlfriend at midfield after the game. She said yes.

UP NEXT

Kansas: Has an open week before playing at Texas Tech on Oct. 20.

West Virginia: Plays at Iowa State next Saturday.

---

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/tag/collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

Kans Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
P. Bender 25 16 64.0 2 191 35 1 97.3
C. Stanley 8 5 62.5 0 15 10 1 27.1
WVU Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
W. Grier 41 28 68.3 4 332 39 3 94.8

Rushing

Kans Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
P. Williams Jr. 12 65 5.4 16 0
K. Herbert 6 46 7.7 31 1
WVU Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
L. Brown 11 107 9.7 47 1
K. McKoy 10 44 4.4 13 0

Receiving

Kans Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
J. Booker 4 63 15.8 35 0
K. Johnson Jr. 4 46 11.5 26 0
WVU Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
D. Sills V 7 74 10.6 26 1
M. Simms 2 57 28.5 39 0

Fumbles

Kans F FL
K. Lassiter II 1 1
C. Stanley 1 0
WVU F FL
W. Grier 1 1

Returning

Kans KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
P. Williams Jr. 1 39.0 0 39 0 0 0
K. Lassiter II 0 0 0 1 3.0 0 0
WVU KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
M. Simms 1 35.0 0 35 1 7.0 0 7

Punting

Kans Punt Yds Avg LgPu
K. Thompson 4 187 46.8 59
WVU Punt Yds Avg LgPu
B. Kinney 2 76 38.0 41

Takeaways

Kans Int Yds InTD
H. Defense 2 88 0
D. Ferguson 1 12 0
WVU Int Yds InTD
H. Bailey 1 17 0
E. Rose 1 2 0

Team Stats Comparison

Kans WVU
Points For 22 38
Total Yards 286 509
Rushing Yards 80 177
Passing Yards 206 332
Passing Completions / Attempts 21/34 28/41
Turnovers 3 4
Interceptions Thrown 2 3
Fumbles - Lost 2/1 2/1
First Downs 16 29
Penalties - Yards 6/45 7/50
Time Of Possession 49:49 11:11
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 5/11 6/12
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 1/3 0/0
Punts - Average Yards 4/47 2/38

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter Kans WVU
WVU 05:32 TD Leddie Brown 15 yd pass from Will Grier (Evan Staley kick) 0 7
WVU 09:39 TD Leddie Brown 1 yd run (Evan Staley kick) 0 14
Kans 14:48 TD Mavin Saunders 18 yd pass from Peyton Bender (Gabriel Rui kick) 7 14
2nd Quarter Kans WVU
WVU 03:08 TD Jovani Haskins 14 yd pass from Will Grier (Evan Staley kick) 7 21
3rd Quarter Kans WVU
Kans 04:10 TD Khalil Herbert 31 yd run (Gabriel Rui kick) 14 21
WVU 15:00 TD Martell Pettaway 12 yd pass from Will Grier (Evan Staley kick) 14 28
4th Quarter Kans WVU
WVU 09:55 FG Evan Staley 49 yd FG 14 31
WVU 12:40 TD David Sills V 17 yd pass from Will Grier (Evan Staley kick) 14 38
Kans 15:00 TD Daylon Charlot 18 yd pass from Peyton Bender (Kwamie Lassiter II 2pt pass from Peyton Bender) 22 38

Game Information

Stadium: Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia
Attendance: 57,419
Game Time:
Weather: