It isn't often that a team with only 3 total rushing yards in a game gets a win, especially a team as proficient in the running game as the Kansas State Wildcats. That was the case though on Thursday night in Morgantown, West Virginia, as a phenomenal game by quarterback Jake Waters helped to lead the K-State to a victory over the slumping West Virginia Mountaineers.

Kansas State started off the game with a touchdown on their first drive, and they held on to the 7-0 lead through the entire first quarter. The Mountaineers had a chance to tie the game up late in the first, or at least cut into the lead, but a fumble by Wendell Smallwood inside of the 5 yard line killed their hopes of scoring and the team never recovered. The teams would trade field goals in the second quarter, and the scoring went stagnant for most of the quarter. That was the case, anyway, until Tyler Lockett returned a very short punt by WVU for a touchdown with just over a minute to go before halftime to break the game open. Kansas State had another golden opportunity to score after a bad interception by Mountaineers starting quarterback Clint Trickett, but a botched field goal play led to a stop and a little momentum for West Virginia.

In the third quarter, after a KSU field goal and another interception by Trickett, backup quarterback Skyler Howard entered the game for WVU, replacing Trickett who had been injured previously. Howard led the team on a long, fast-paced drive for a touchdown, which saw him complete all 4 of his passes for 56 yards and the score. It was a 13 point margin entering the third quarter, but the hole that West Virginia dug for itself in the first half was too much for them to overcome. Mario Alford scored on a 53 yard catch and run (mostly run) to cut the lead to 6 in the fourth. Each team would go on to kick a field goal, and on the last meaningful play of the game, West Virginia could not recover an onside kick, effectively putting the nail in the coffin. It wasn't a pretty game, but it was certainly competitive, and the Kansas State Wildcats had just enough to outlast West Virginia in Morgantown.

This was anything but your average game. The weather conditions played a major role in the game, from the turf condition to the kicking game. In the first half, a play that was nearly the touchdown of the year in college football was overturned on review. Kansas State finished with a mere 3 rushing yards after being in the red in terms of the ground game for most of the night; it is not often that you a Kansas State offensive play one-dimensionally, let alone having that one dimension be the passing game.

Jake Waters had one of the best games of his career on Thursday night, racking up 400 passing yards on 22/33 passing with one touchdown, good for a 178.5 passer efficiency rating. Waters also led the Wildcats' anemic running game, netting 13 yards on 12 carries (he was not sacked all game). Tyler Lockett put up his second game in a row with 196 or more yards (last week he put up 197), this week with 10 receptions. Curry Sexton also had a good day receiving, with 5 catches for 76 yards. The secondary for K-State played well, intercepting Clint Trickett twice, with those interceptions by Randall Evans and Dante Barnett.

Despite ending up with more total yards than Kansas State (433-403), it was a rough game for the West Virginia offense for most of the night. Clint Trickett was the starting quarterback on Senior Night in Milan Puskar Stadium, and he did not ahve a good day. 12/25 passing for just 112 yards with 2 interceptions, giving him a 69.6 rating before he left the game with an undisclosed injury. Skyler Howard, who replaced Trickett, faired somewhat better, completing 15/23 passes for 198 yards with two touchdowns, good for a 166.2 rating in a little less than a half of work. The Mountaineers ran for 123 yards on 37 carries, their leading rusher being Rushel Shell who netted 60 yards on 15 carries. Kevin White led the team in receptions with 7, while Mario Alford led WVU in receiving yards with 92 (on 4 catches).

While their hopes of reaching the inaugural College Football Playoff aren't attainable, a share of the Big 12 Championship are for Kansas State. Still with only one loss in conference, coming to the hands of TCU, they have a shot at winning a share of the conference title still, something that very few people picked them to have a shot at this season. This was a big win for not only the Wildcats but also TCU and Baylor. TCU because it makes their win over KSU look even more impressive and helps their playoff resume, and for Baylor because it would make a win in Waco look even better at the end of the season. However, that game is going to be no cake walk for the Bears in two weeks, but Kansas State can go toe-to-toe with the best in the nation. With a quarterback like Jake Waters, good receivers, a (usually) solid running game and Bill Snyder as your coach, you can't count a team out. Kansas State's next game will be Saturday, November 29 at home against Kansas.

It has been rough stretch for West Virginia, who despite their best efforts are not able to overcome a stretch of bad play yet again, as they now have lost three games in a row and the program is surrounded by question marks, most notably the ones surrounding the quarterback position. There were no reports during the game of what injury Clint Trickett suffered than forced him the leave the game, but you have to wonder whether or not he'll be able to play next week against Iowa State next weekend. Coach Dana Holgorsen needed to show improvement this year to save his job, and he's done that with this Mountaineers team, but now he'll be looking to lead his team to some slight end of season redemption as the season draws to a close. West Virginia's final game of the season will be next week at Iowa State.

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About the author
Brendan Dzwierzynski
Originally from just outside of Chicago, IL, USA, Brendan is a at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS, USA. Brendan has a great deal of experience in broadcasting and journalism. He has won several awards for radio work, including the Best Sports Play-by-Play at the Columbia College Chicago High School Radio Awards, won during his senior year of high school. He currently serves as the FM Sports Director at KJHK-FM. In terms of writing, he currently writes for several publications, including VAVEL, RockChalkTalk.com (an SB Nation website), thewrestlinggame.com, as well as two personal blogs, titled Per audacia ad astra and Press Box Opinions (sports-only). Brendan is a fan of the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Cubs and White Sox, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks and all teams at the University of Kansas.