PREVIEW: Mountaineers Look to Bounce Back Against Jayhawks

West Virginia is searching for its first win of the season as Big 12 Conference foe Kansas comes to town

The West Virginia Mountaineers return home for their season opener Saturday evening at six o’clock versus the Kansas Jayhawks and will be streaming on ESPN+.

The Jayhawks pounded Tennessee Tech in their season opener 56-10, and it appears in his second year at the helm, head coach Lance Leipold has the Jayhawks heading in the right direction.

“They’re well coached. I have a lot of respect for Lance and his staff,” said head coach Neal Brown.

“They’re disciplined – They don’t beat themselves. They got a low number of turnovers they don’t have penalties and they’re playing with a lot of confidence right now and they should. If you think about their last four games, they go on the road and win at Texas, lose on the last possession on the road at TCU, our ’21 team, it’s a one possession game they lose at home with a bunch of injuries both sides had a bunch and then they win big.”

The difference in this Jayhawk squad the last four games has been junior quarterback Jalon Daniels. He went an efficient 15-18 for 189 yards a touchdown last week after ending the season with momentum. His first start of the 2021 season came in the 57-56 overtime win over Texas, throwing for 202 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 45 yards and a TD. He followed it with 255 yards, a pair of touchdowns and ran for another 37 yards and a TD in a three-point loss to TCU.

Sep 2, 2022; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels (6) rolls out to pass against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles during the first half at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Daniels was able to get his yards through the air (249) against West Virginia in the season finale, but the Mountaineers picked off two of his three interceptions on the season to hold off the pesky Jayhawks 34-28.

“They’re quarterback Jalen Daniels, he’s got confidence,” said Brown. “He’s a dual threat guy but he’s a passer first. He’s athletic enough to run but he’s a passer first. He’s accurate. He throws the deep ball well. They’ve hit some explosive plays – you saw that against Texas last year and he did it again in their first game this year.”

Kansas racked up 502 yards of total offense, including an eye-opening 297 rushing yards. Devin Neal ran for a team best 108 yards and two touchdowns on four carries, highlighted by an 80-yard touchdown run.

“Offensively, they’re multiple. They use motion and shift. They do a great job of moving guys around and figuring out ways to run the football and get some shot plays down the field from a schematic’s standpoint.”

Defensive end Lonnie Phelps, who transferred to Kansas in December from Miami (OH), tallied a team-high seven tackles, including four tackles for a loss and three sacks. His three sacks were the most by a Jayhawk since Cameron Rosser had three against TCU in 2016.

Sep 2, 2022; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks safety Kenny Logan Jr. (1) returns a kickoff against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles during the first half at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Covering the backend is senior safety Kenny Logan Jr. His 113 tackles a season ago led the conference and earned him a 2021 Second Team All-Big 12 selection.

“They have belief and they’re playing well. They’re a good football team. I think at the end of the year you’re going to look back and say, hey, ‘this is one of the most improved teams in the entire country.’”

West Virginia is coming off an emotional 38-31 loss to its bitter rival, the Pitt Panthers in the renewal of the Backyard Brawl.

Freshman CJ Donaldson burst onto the scene with 125 rushing yards and a touchdown on seven carries and blocked a punt early in the third quarter.

"They listed him there [tight end] and are playing him at other spots. For a freshman not only can he handle a lot, but he's very talented on special teams,” said Leipold. “He's a big body to tackle. He's a special athlete that they did a great job evaluating and getting him there. I'm sure they'll continue to find ways to utilize him and that's going to be a challenge for us anytime you have somebody with that type of athletic ability."

Sep 1, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback JT Daniels (18) passes against pressure from Pittsburgh Panthers defensive back Rashad Battle (15) during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

West Virginia quarterback JT Daniels made his Mountaineer debut last week. He stood tough in the pocket as one of the best defensive lines in the country made their presence felt but he tossed for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

"Very experienced. He's been through a lot of things in his career. Environments won't bother him. He's back in an offensive system in which he started his college career so you can see it on film, very comfortable in that.”

The Mountaineer defense allowed 384 total yards of offense in the season opener, 308 yards through the air. Although the staff pieced together a secondary in the offseason with multiple transfer, 2022 Preseason All-Big 12 Conference corner Charles Woods went out with an injury early in the first quarter. However, the defense only allowed 76 yards on the ground.

“You can see they're operating at a pretty good level,” said Leipold.

West Virginia leads the all-time series 10-0, including a perfect 6-0 at Mountaineer Field. 

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