West Virginia’s offense never found its footing Saturday, and Kansas made sure the Mountaineers paid for every mistake in a 37-14 loss at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown.
The afternoon started badly and never really improved for West Virginia, which was held to its quietest offensive performance of the season. After piling up 48 points in Lubbock against Texas Tech last weekend, the Mountaineers managed just one touchdown through the first half and spent most of the game chasing Kansas.
The Jayhawks set the tone early. They opened with the ball and marched into the red zone before West Virginia’s defense forced them to settle for a field goal.
That small stop didn’t last long. On the Mountaineers’ first possession, junior quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. had a pass tipped at the line, and junior linebacker Trey Lathan snatched it for the interception.
Two plays later, redshirt sophomore running back Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman powered in from 5 yards out, and Kansas was suddenly up 10-0 with 8:52 left in the first quarter.
West Virginia answered with one of its few sharp moments of the day. Sophomore wide receiver Taron Francis came down with a tightly contested 38-yard grab, and a few plays later a defensive pass interference call helped set up Hawkins Jr.’s 2-yard touchdown run. That cut the deficit to 10-7 with 4:35 left in the opening quarter.
Kansas kept rolling. After quarterback Isaiah Marshall left briefly with an injury, junior Chase Jenkins stepped in, though he barely had to do anything on an 8-play, 75-yard drive finished by another Cummings-Coleman touchdown, this one from 26 yards out. The Jayhawks led 17-7 with 1:01 left in the first quarter.
Marshall returned on the next drive, and West Virginia finally got a break when freshman corner ChaMarryus Bomar intercepted a deep shot. It was the first interception of Bomar’s career and gave the Mountaineers a chance to get back into the game. Instead, they went three-and-out and punted, and the frustration in the stadium started to show with 10:21 left in the second quarter.
Kansas kept applying pressure. Senior running back Chase Belcher scored from 2 yards out to push the lead to 23-7, and after another West Virginia punt, the Jayhawks went 10 plays and 67 yards before Marshall punched in a rushing touchdown. By halftime, the Mountaineers were staring at a 30-7 deficit.
Whatever hope remained for a second-half push never really materialized. West Virginia’s defense did hold Kansas scoreless in the third quarter, but the offense couldn’t string together anything meaningful, and the Jayhawks were still in complete control entering the fourth.
Kansas extended the margin right away to open the final period. Belcher scored again, this time from 8 yards out, capping a 7-play, 56-yard drive and making it 37-7.
West Virginia did finally move the ball late. The Mountaineers put together a 12-play, 86-yard drive, but the sequence also brought more bad news when sixth-year senior wideout Jaden Bray came up holding his left knee after a catch and had to be helped off by trainers. He did not return.
Hawkins Jr. eventually found senior wideout John Neider from 17 yards out to get West Virginia back in the end zone with 5:01 left, but by then the game was long decided.
The final numbers told the story. West Virginia finished with just 262 yards of total offense, well below its season average of 480 per game. Kansas earned its first road win of the season, while the Mountaineers now need a win over Houston or Utah in one of their final two games to become bowl-eligible.
In Other News...
Mike Hawkins Jr. Is Rewriting WVU Expectations At The Worst Time
Mike Hawkins Jr. has spent this season giving West Virginia a different kind of quarterback conversation, one built on production both through the air and on the ground. He is on the doorstep of becoming the first WVU quarterback to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in the same season, and he recently added another line to the record book by breaking the programs single-season rushing touchdown mark.
For a program trying to build around him, the timing makes the whole situation feel even more delicate. West Virginia is working to re-sign Hawkins, but no deal is imminent, even as former Mountaineers continue to praise what he has done and what he could still become. The longer this stretches out, the more his breakout season starts to look like both a breakthrough and a decision point for the program. [Read more 🡒]
Jaden Bray Just Earned A Rare WVU Honor Off The Field
West Virginia University used halftime of the WVU-Kansas game to spotlight Jaden Bray for work that has nothing to do with catches or yards. The graduate student and wide receiver was named a Mountaineer of Distinction, an honor that recognizes academic achievement and service to the university, and he became the first WVU football student-athlete to receive it.
Brays recognition fits a broader profile that has made him stand out around the program. Along with his community service, he has collected multiple academic and leadership awards, giving WVU another example of a player whose impact extends well beyond the field. The timing of the honor, in front of a home crowd, only underscored how rare the distinction is for a football player in Morgantown. [Read more 🡒]