WVU game grades

A lucky bounce on a field goal, an interception at an inopportune time, a few different play calls and this game could have gone KU's way. There were some encouraging signs from Defense (again) and a few other parts of the team. It felt like a few different factors and/or combination of factors led to the result. However, it's a loss and we'll have to move on to the TCU game.

QB/Carter Stanley (Grade: B+) - Seems to be getting more comfortable with the offense. A spectacular pass to Parchment for a touchdown was tempered by an interception at a key juncture in the game and an unfortunate fumble. It also seemed like he was not adjusting to WVU's defense like he did at BC. Last drive was also fun.

RB's (Grade: B+) - It was not Khali Herbert's day. Stanley had the second most yards behind Pooka and seemed to be reading defenses and choosing the QB keep option several times. He's a good runner, but we need to get the running game in gear with Herbert and Williams against Big 12 defenses.

WR's/TE's (Grade: A) - West Virginia was trying to shut down Parchment today. However, he came through in the second half and finished with That led to distributing passes out to Robinson, Lassiter, and Clayton (CHECK SPELLING!!!).

Offensive Line (Grade: "B") - With two sacks and the fumble that was caused by a rush, the O-line was decent. It felt like either they were trying plays that just wouldn't work against WVU or they weren't executing very well.

Defense (Grade "B"/B-) - There were a few sacks and a couple of quarterback hurries, but no interceptions or fumbles and WVU offense was able to control the game and game clock for most of the game. Give the Defense credit for being on the field that long and holding up. So, this might be more on the Offense not giving D more of a break.

Special Teams/Kicking (Grade "B") - The good was Jones completing a field goal and that no returns turned into TD's. The bad was the on-side kick that turned into a penalty and favorable field position for WVU that led to a field goal.

Coaches (Grade: B-) - Liked the creative thinking, but the second to last drive had a sequence of plays that ate a lot of clock that KU really needed. Started out more conservative than I expected coming from the BC game.

For some perspective, here are the score differences for KU's last six Big12 openers (all loses): 2013-38, 2014-23, 2015-25, 2016-36, 2017-22, 2018-19. That's an average of 27+ points. So, to look on the bright side, a 22 point improvement!

Sorry for a couple of typo's...too big a hurry to post:

Corrections:
- Parchment finished with 5 receptions for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns.
- Charlot, NOT Clayton. (In my defense, I knew that was wrong and put in Clayton as a placeholder to fix later!)