Grades from Kansas State’s 48-31 victory at West Virginia and a look ahead to KU

It is completely appropriate to refer to the Kansas State football team as a group of road warriors.

The Wildcats played five games away from home this season and they won four of them.

First came a shootout victory at Oklahoma. Then they beat Iowa State by the ugly score of 10-9. Next came a dominant showing at Baylor. On Saturday, K-State added a 48-31 victory over West Virginia at Milan Puskar Stadium to the list.

“Coach Klieman came in and told us we are the best Big 12 team on the road,” K-State running back Deuce Vaughn said. “He feels like that, just from the way we played in prime-time games, whether it be in Ames or Waco, all these places that are really hard to play and really hard to win. That’s what we were able to do.”

K-State’s only road loss of the season came against TCU, but it’s worth remembering that the Wildcats led 28-10 in that game and were derailed by injuries in the second half. The Horned Frogs were the better team that day, but it’s not like K-State couldn’t handle the environment.

We may soon see if K-State can continue its winning trend on a neutral field in a rematch against TCU in the Big 12 championship game. The Wildcats can clinch a trip to AT&T Stadium with a win over Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown or a loss from Texas against Baylor on Friday.

Let’s look back on the action from Saturday and hand out a few awards and grades, as well as look ahead to next week’s game against Kansas.

Play of the game

Daniel Green stopped West Virginia from converting a fourth-down attempt with one of the best tackles you will ever see.

The Mountaineers lined up for a quarterback sneak and Green anticipated the play perfectly. As soon as the ball was snapped, the senior K-State linebacker jumped over a pile of football players and came crashing down on WVU quarterback Garrett Greene before he could push forward.

It was an important turnover on downs that gave the Wildcats terrific field position.

Player of the game

The Wildcats needed to score more than 30 points to beat West Virginia. That was no problem for Will Howard.

K-State’s junior quarterback completed 19 of 27 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Malik Knowles six times for 111 yards and a touchdown. He also hooked up with Ben Sinnott three times for 85 yards and a score.

The offense is in good hands with Howard at the controls.

Stat of the game

Forty seven. Would you believe that K-State and West Virginia combined to score 47 points in the first quarter? If you blinked, you missed a touchdown in the opening 15 minutes of that game.

Quote to note

“Will Howard is playing at a really high level, and he is one of the most improved players in college football.” — Chris Klieman.

Kansas State football grades

Offense: A+. The Wildcats are scoring at an incredible rate with Howard at quarterback. They have averaged 38.8 points in the four games he has played this season. He has been so efficient that it’s almost a surprise when a K-State drive ends without a touchdown. K-State had 437 yards in this one. Deuce Vaughn (67 yards and a touchdown) was quiet for his standards, but DJ Giddens (78 yards and a score) delivered some big plays. Malik Knowles and Ben Sinnott were great in the passing game.

Defense: C. The first half was a mess for K-State on defense. West Virginia hit several explosive pass plays and it was clear that the Wildcats missed Kobe Savage at safety. But the Wildcats did make some adjustments and played much better in the second half. Brendan Mott had three sacks. Julius Brents and Cincere Mason both came up with interceptions.

Special Teams: A. Why didn’t Ty Zentner start out the season at kicker? He has been terrific since taking over on field goals and connected on a pair of long ones (46 and 53 yards) on Saturday.

Coaching: B. Chris Klieman is rarely aggressive at the end of the second quarter, but he made the wise decision to keep his foot on the gas late in the first half on Saturday. He called timeouts when West Virginia possessed the ball and forced the Mountaineers to punt to the Wildcats with enough time left to try for a field goal. That is exactly what they got, and K-State led 41-25 at halftime. It was a good coaching move that made a West Virginia comeback less likely.

Next up for K-State

This will be the biggest Sunflower Showdown in a long time.

Both Kansas and Kansas State are bowl eligible. The Jayhawks can clinch a winning record with a win on Saturday. The Wildcats can clinch a berth in the Big 12 championship game with a win on Saturday.

K-State has owned this series in recent years, winning every game since 2008.

The Jayhawks are coming off an ugly home loss against the Texas Longhorns. But Jalon Daniels returned at quarterback over the weekend. His presence will give the Wildcats something else to plan for this week.

K-State is expected to be favored by about 12 points, based on lookahead betting lines.