West Virginia defeats Kansas 48-21

The University of Kansas Fighting Jayhawks fell to the West Virginia Fighting Mountaineers by a 48-21 count on Saturday night in Morgantown.

The score at halftime was 31-0.

Once again, the Kansas offense was fairly punchless. Sure, they’d have some success moving ball, maybe even get a couple of first downs, but then Cozart would overthrow a receiver downfield, or a couple of penalties would set the Jayhawks back, and the drive would end in a punt or turnover.

Once again, the Kansas defense started off decently; West Virginia’s first five possessions went Field Goal, Punt, Punt, Touchdown, Turnover on Downs. After that, five of WVU’s next six possessions ended with the Mountaineers dancing in the end zone.

Ryan Willis did not play while Montell Cozart played into the third quarter. Cozart threw an interception on KU’s first drive of the game; according to the radio broadcast, the receiver may have run the wrong route, for whatever that is worth. However, Cozart’s game was marred by overthrown balls and the willingness to shy away from contact, which cost his team multiple first downs in this game. This is all stuff we have seen from Cozart in the past, so none of it is a surprise. In addition, out of the 10 times Cozart led the KU offense onto the field, the Jayhawks went 3-and-out four times.

Carter Stanley made a relief appearance midway through the third quarter and finished out the game for Kansas. Stanley, the redshirt freshman, looked good at times and looked like a redshirt freshman at other times. Likely playing primarily against backups, he completed 9/11 passes for 127 yards, 2 TDs, and an INT.

However, according to Beaty in the postgame, the reason Cozart came out of the game at that point was due to concussion symptoms.

So do we have a quarterback controversy brewing? I’ve been saying for weeks to put Stanley in. At this point, we know what Cozart is, plus, we don’t have anything to lose.

I would also like to point out that the first touchdown Kansas scored was all Ke’aun Kinner. After KU recovered a fumble near the WVU 30-yard line, Beaty called five straight running plays for Kinner, and KU erased the goose egg on the scoreboard.

Moar Ke’aun Kinner. I’m not saying please anymore; this is now a demand.

Up for the Jayhawks next week is Iowa State, likely KU’s best chance to win a second game in this 2016 campaign. However, the way ISU has been playing, even this game looks like a tough one.

We’ll take a closer look at the West Virginia game over the next day or two, but for now, the comments section is yours.