MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — No. 12 West Virginia missed a few opportunities early Saturday, but Will Grier and his receivers found their rhythm during a 35-6 romp over Kansas State.
Grier finished with 356 yards passing and tied a personal-best with five touchdowns — three of them on 1-yarders to David Sills — as West Virginia (3-0, 1-0 Big 12) won its third straight game in the series.
Marcus Simms produced 136 yards receiving, 82 coming on a first-quarter bomb that put the Mountaineers ahead to stay.
Grier ended the day 25 of 35, tempered by two interceptions. His backup Jack Allison threw an interception on his third snap after entering midway through the fourth quarter.
Blake Lynch converted two field goals for Kansas State (2-2, 0-1), which replaced quarterback Skylar Thompson with Alex Delton late in the third quarter.
The Mountaineers, playing their first game in two weeks after Hurricane Florence canceled the matchup at N.C. State, led 464-318 in total offense.
Grier and Sills connected on a 1-yard slant in the second quarter to make it 14-0. They hooked up again just two seconds before halftime, with the 6-foot-4 receiver plucking a back-corner fade pass over 5-11 cornerback A.J. Parker.
That gave West Virginia a 21-point margin and a 320-77 edge in first-half yardage.
The score could’ve been more lopsided if not for the Mountaineers failing to score on three of their first four forays into Kansas State territory.
It was an uncharacteristic outcome in a series where the past four meetings were decided by a combined 13 points.
With all the attention afforded West Virginia’s marquee receivers, tiny 5-foot-6 Tevin Bush slipped out of the slot for a 68-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
After Mountaineers linebacker David Long stripped Justin Silmon, West Virginia capitalized with a 17-yard drive capped by Sills’ third score of the day.
Kennedy McKoy added 73 yards on 12 carries for the Mountaineers.
Thompson completed 11 of 17 for 145 yards before exiting to a 35-3 deficit. Delton threw for 82 yards on 7-of-12 passing.
