What Chris Klieman Said About Neal Brown and West Virginia

Kansas State's head coach gives his thoughts on the matchup with the Mountaineers.

Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

This weekend, the West Virginia Mountaineers will see another ranked opponent, No. 17 Kansas State, waltz into Morgantown for a primetime kickoff.

The Wildcats are coming off a thrilling 31-28 road win over the Colorado Buffaloes, a game where running back DJ Giddens rushed for 182 yards on 25 carries.

As for the Mountaineers, well, you all know how the Coal Rush went.

On Monday afternoon, Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman met with the media to discuss this week's game at West Virginia. Here are a few of the highlights from that presser that features WVU talk.

 Initial thoughts on the game vs. WVU 

“We’ve got to be better this week. We’re playing a West Virginia team that I’ve got tons of respect for…Neal and what he’s done. He and I are on the same time frame of being hired at the same time, we’re on the board of trustees together. I know him well and he’s doing a really good job down there.”

Challenge of stopping West Virginia’s rushing attack

“They run the ball and they run the ball really effectively with three different players. Both tailbacks are really good and can beat you inside or outside. They’re two maybe different-sized backs, but they both run inside, they both run outside. And then (Garrett) Greene is one of my favorite kids to watch play. Now, I don’t know if I’m going to really like watching him on Saturday night, but he’s a competitor. He makes plays with his arm, he makes plays with his legs. Not afraid to run inside. He’s not going to cut back and run out of bounds or slide very often. You can tell his energy sparks their team.”

West Virginia’s defense

“It’s been some of the things we’ve seen in the past from them. They’re going to be some three-down, they’re going to be some four-down. Even their three-down they may have an overhang guy. They’re going to pressure you. I think they’re really disruptive up front. I think they’re really physical. They get upfield and they’ve got a guy (T.J. Jackson) that I think leads the country in TFLs. They’re not just reading and reacting, they’re a penetrating defensive line.”

What a Neal Brown-coached team is like

“100% toughness. Mentally tough as well as physically tough. Really disciplined teams that play the game the right way, they play hard. Neal’s had a ton of success. Happy for him. It’s a tough atmosphere to go into, we know that. It’s really good football down there and they’re going to give us everything.”

West Virginia and Kansas State will kick the ball off at 7:30 p.m. EST on FOX.

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