A preview of EMAW

Editor’s note:This is the 10th in a 12-part series previewing WVU’s football opponents for the 2021 season.

Kansas State’s 2020 season was largely the tale of two halves.

So too has been the history of its series against West Virginia.

The Wildcats rolled into Morgantown on Halloween last season with a 4-1 overall mark and a 4-0 record in the Big 12, including a 38-35 win over Oklahoma. But the Mountaineers pounded the Wildcats 37-10 and Kansas State didn’t win another game, ending the year on a five-game losing streak to finish 4-6.

In terms of the teams’ histories against each other, things look similar. The Wildcats won each of the first four matchups against WVU after the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 in 2012, but since then West Virginia has claimed five straight wins, including last year’s blowout.

All told, the Mountaineers lead the series 6-5.

Should the Wildcats draw even against the Mountaineers and resurface as a Big 12 contender in 2021, it will rely on one of the sport’s most seasoned quarterbacks, a dual-threat weapon in the backfield and a few key transfers on the defensive side of the ball.

Skylar Thompson will return at quarterback after an injury ended his season in the team’s third game last year against Texas Tech.

Thompson has thrown for 5,201 yards and rushed for 1,083 while making 30 starts in his career.

Only Thompson and former quarterback Ell Roberson have thrown for 5,000 yards and rushed for 1,000 in program history.

Thompson will certainly need help in the offense and should get it in shifty sophomore running back Deuce Vaughn, who led the team in rushing (642 yards, seven touchdowns) and receiving (25 catches, 434 yards, two scores) last season.While his exploits were obviously impressive, they do bring into question a receiving corps that will need to produce more this season.

No wideout in 2020 caught more than 19 passes.Senior Chabastin Taylor is back after leading the receivers with 293 yards a year ago and, at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, poses a physical threat on the outside, as does junior Malik Knowles (6-3, 200 pounds), who also returns after making 13 grabs for 204 yards last season. Junior Philip Brooks caught 15 passes a year ago but may be a bigger threat on special teams, where he has three punt return touchdowns to his credit.

Tight end Briley Moore was second in receiving (22 catches, 338 yards) last season but signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans.

Enter Daniel Imatorbhebhe, who came in from Illinois as a senior transfer.

The Wildcats lost five senior starters up front before last season but return plenty of depth this season, with tackles Cooper Beebe and Christian Duffie expected to lead the group.

Defensively, Kansas State lost several key players, including lineman Wyatt Hubert, linebackers Elijah Sullivan and Justin Hughes and AJ Parker at cornerback.

The Wildcats hope they have found the answers to those losses through the transfer portal.

Julius Brents (6-4, 204 pounds) transferred in from Iowa and will give the team a physical presence at corner.

Also coming in are linebacker Eric Munoz (Utah State), safety Russ Yeast (Louisville) and defensive tackle Timmy Horne (Charlotte).

Those players will add depth to several key returners.

Senior safety Jahron McPherson led the team with 54 tackles and picked off a pair of passes last season. Senior linebacker Cody Fletcher was third best among Wildcat tacklers with 44 and along with junior Daniel Green (39 tackles, 2.5 sacks) will help buoy the position.

Up front, senior Bronson Massie will look to take over as the team’s primary rush end and, in addition to Brents, look for Ekow Boye-Doe and Justin Gardner to get significant snaps at cornerback.Contact Ryan Pritt at 304-348-7948 orThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow him on Twitter@RPritt.

Man, there was no way I thought the Mountaineers were going to win that one last year. But somehow, that's always the situation with WVU. Well, if they're not on a tear. They have those near-greatness seasons. But there are a lot of them where they lose the "gimme games" and then pull off the surprising thumpings like K-State last seaosn.