Kansas Jayhawks Football Predictions: West Virginia Mountaineers

It’s a rare time in Lawrence, KS. Not only has a huge upset win on the road breathed life into the Kansas Jayhawks fanbase, the conjunction of a team worthy of a bit of excitement and a very winnable conference opener gives this game a different feeling than I’ve experienced in a while. Does Kansas build off that momentum and take a step towards an undeniable success in the first year of Les Miles? Or will the West Virginia Mountaineers come in and steal a road win in heart-wrenching fashion?

Take a look at what our staff thinks will happen in this game, then leave your own prediction in the comments below.

Fizzle406: Last week was fun but we are coming back to reality. This team might make it competitive and keep it close but they don’t have what it will take to win. In a couple years when Les has had a few recruiting cycles under his belt, I expect to win this game. But that is still a ways off. West Virginia 35, Kansas 20

Dino: Obviously, confidence has to be high coming off the road win last week against Boston College. This is no doubt a winnable game. Les Miles has his team believing. Kansas wins in a runaway thumping.

Kansas 40 West Virginia 21

Kyle_Davis21: After whiffing the past two weeks, I’m most confident that whatever I say here, I will be wrong. Unlike the last two opponents, West Virginia doesn’t run the ball well (only averaging 79 yards per game) while giving up at least 140 yards to each of its opponents. So Kansas has to get the Herbert-Williams duo going early and often. I said we can learn a lot about the Jayhawks this week. I think it’ll be close, and apparently drank some kool-aid today because I’m going with the home team as a narrow winner. Kansas 28, West Virginia 27

David: I think there’s been some overreaction to one game in terms of this teams prospects for the season. Boston College was a fun game, but West Virginia won’t be caught off guard by a brand new offense. I assume we’ll see more frustrating play and a disappointing loss. West Virginia 27, Kansas 20

Andy: There are a lot of intriguing storylines going into this game, but I honestly don’t think much has changed in terms of how competitive this game will be. Kansas seems to have figured out how to scheme their way to a productive offense. West Virginia seems to have figured out how to make their offensive line work in sync. Both still have a lot of work to do in order to prove that they can be consistent. But the winner of this game will be halfway to bowl eligibility, and that fact, plus what should be an improved crowd on Saturday, should lead to lots of entertainment. Khalil Herbert and Pooka Williams are going to EAT, and there will be lots of highlights. Kansas 41, West Virginia 38.

dnoll5: Man, I don’t know. On one hand, that win on Friday was so fun. On the other, this is Kansas football and we aren’t allowed to have nice things when it comes to KU football. This was one of the winnable games when the schedule was announced and I see no reason to change my mind on that fact, so let’s just give the old crimson Kool-Aid one more try. Kansas wins in a tight one. KU 35, WVU 34.

Brendan: It would be a lot easier to know how to pick this game if there was any tell as to how this game would be called. If we know for a fact Miles, Koenning and co. will set up the offense like they did last week, I have more than enough faith KU can win, as I don’t have a whole lot of trust in the West Virginia roster. The defensive matchup for Kansas is favorable in my view, given that the Mountaineers are inept at running and pass a bunch, so the Jayhawks’ secondary should have a chance to make plays against Austin Kendall and WVU’s passing attack. I’ll give the optimistic benefit of the doubt to the offense. KU 34, WVU 28.

Mike: Like several others, I just don’t know. Whatever I say will be wrong, so just skip this and fast forward to the game on Saturday afternoon. I think dnoll nailed it when he said that Kansas football (seemingly) can’t have nice things, so yeah, I think we get pulled back down into reality after the BC shocker last week. West Virginia 34, Kansas 24.