Written by Max Meyer

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Three Things to Know : West Virginia vs Kansas State

1. This game has huge implications for the Heisman race

College football fans will enjoy watching two of the most exciting and valuable quarterbacks face off against one another Saturday. West Virginia’s Geno Smith has yet to throw an interception, but his completion percentage came crashing down in a lackluster game against Texas Tech. In order for Smith to remain at the top of the Heisman race, two things need to happen in this game: Smith must have another great performance and West Virginia must win the game.

Smith’s major strength is his arm, but Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein’s best weapon is his legs. The dual-threat QB has a solid 67 percent completion rate, but more impressive are his 510 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. Klein, at 226 pounds, weighs more than seven of the 11 West Virginia starting defenders so they might have a hard time bringing this tough quarterback down.

So what do AccuScore simulations predict for both of the Heisman candidates? Smith projects to have close to an 180 passer rating to go with 340 passing yards and three touchdowns. Klein projects to have a 158 passer rating, and close to 300 combined yards and three touchdowns.

Even though Robert Griffin won the Heisman Trophy last season on a four loss Baylor team, he did not have to go up against Andrew Luck head-to-head in a game. Whoever loses Saturday will suffer a major blow to their Heisman campaign.

For the AccuScore computer’s award winning picks on every major college football game, visit the College Football Picks Page

2. Two other offensive weapons will play key roles as well

While both quarterbacks play integral roles in their teams’ offenses, each team does get help from another impact player.

West Virginia senior Tavon Austin has been one of the best wide receivers in the nation this season. Although undersized at 5’9’’, Austin plays a much bigger game than his size would indicate. He is an explosive playmaker having had 99 receiving yards or more in every game except for the first game of the season against Marshall. Additionally, until last week against Texas Tech, Austin had double-digit catches and at least one receiving touchdown in every single game. Austin also plays an important role in West Virginia’s special teams as the kick and punt returner. While Accucore sims project “only” nine catches for Austin, he also projects for more than 100 receiving yards with a touchdown.

Klein means a lot to Kansas State’s rushing attack, but West Virginia’s defense also needs to key on junior running back John Hubert. Like Austin, Hubert is undersized for his position at 5’7’’. He is averaging over six yards a carry, and has had over 100 yards rushing in four of Kansas State’s six games. While Klein has 10 rushing touchdowns, Hubert has a nose for the endzone as well with eight. AccuScore projects a good game for Hubert with over 90 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Both of these players will need to play a supporting role for their Heisman quarterback candidates. Whoever does their job better will influence the Big 12 race and Heisman chase dramatically.

3. What of the defenses?

While AccuScore’s big projections for both quarterbacks show how talented each of them are, the stats are also inflated because of the defenses they are facing. West Virginia’s defense has been a laughingstock this season allowing over 35 points per game. They rank near the bottom in the country in passing yards allowed and passing efficiency against. Luckily for them, Collin Klein likely is not going to sling it that often against West Virginia’s secondary. Against the run, West Virginia is ranked 43rd nationally so Kansas State probably will not have constant holes to run through. The key for this defense is to prevent time-consuming Kansas State drives from occurring so that way West Virginia can give the ball to its offense early and often.

On the other side, Kansas State’s pass defense is one of the few weaknesses on the team. The Wildcats currently ranked 74th in the nation in pass defense allowing 238.5 yards per game. After struggling against the fourth best passing defense last week in Texas Tech, Geno Smith should rip apart this subpar secondary.

Prediction

It is very difficult to win on the road in college football. West Virginia is a 2.5 point favorite in this game because several people are counting them out based on their poor performance on the road last week. AccuScore gives Kansas State a 52.2 percent chance of winning this game outright, and predicts the Wildcats to cover the spread 56.5 percent of the time. This game will be a shootout no matter how hard Klein and Hubert will try to prevent it. I don’t think Kansas State’s passing offense will be able to match the firepower of the Mountaineer offense. Additionally, West Virginia knows that if they lose this game, their chances of winning the Big 12 and playing in a major bowl are finished. I will happily take the home team underdog playing with more urgency to win this game.

#17 West Virginia 42, #4 Kansas State 38