By: James Gravley | WV Sports Chat
West Virginia may be 11-2 all-time against the Kansas Jayhawks, but in order for them to go 12-2 all-time the Mountaineers will need an A+ game from both Nicco Marchiol and Tye Edwards.
I’m not saying mistakes won’t happen, but those mistakes can’t come at critical points in the game. And if they do, it will be a long day for the Mountaineers.
Marchiol this season has a QB rating of 45.9 this season which is ranked 98th this season. He also has only thrown two touchdowns with one interception this season. He has only thrown for over 200 yards once this season and that was against Robert Morris. He threw for 178 against Ohio and 192 against Pitt. He will need to throw for over 200 yards today to keep WVU in this ballgame.
Marchiol will also need to limit turnovers while throwing the ball. Last week he made some incredible throws down the stretch to tie the game against Pitt and then later on in overtime. If that late time Marchiol shows up for the entire game against KU, then the Mountaineers should exit with a victory.
When it comes to Tye Edwards, he cemented himself as the number one running back for the Mountaineers after the Pitt game.
On Edwards 25 rushing attempts he tallied 141 yards with three touchdowns cementing himself as the top running back in the 31-24 overtime win.
I do think that Edwards will once break over the 100-yard mark for the second straight week against KU. If the offensive line plays like it did against Pitt, then this could be a game won in the trenches and WVU may have the slight edge, especially on the defensive front.
I predict Edwards will rush it 27 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns.
As a defense, the Jayhawks, per NCAA.com, is tied 57th in the nation giving up 117 yards per game on the ground and 3.97 yards per carry along with allowing five touchdowns. West Virginia enters the KU game with 12 sacks through three games played. The Mountaineers had a total of 20 sacks all last season. Over the span of three weeks, WVU had four sacks against Robert Morris, two against Ohio and six against Pitt.
Photo: WVU Athletics
