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First quarter
Key play: West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith hit receiver Stedman Bailey for a 45-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage, a sign of things to come.
Key stat: Smith completed six of his first seven passes for 145 yards.
Second quarter
Key play: Smith threw an 8-yard touchdown to Bailey that gave West Virginia a 21-0 lead and kickstarted the rout.
Key stat: At halftime, KU had fewer completions (three) than West Virginia had touchdowns (five).
Third quarter
Key play: West Virginia poured it on with a 1-yard touchdown run from Tavon Austin that made the score 52-7 with 1:31 left.
Key stat: Bailey had 10 catches for 158 yards after three quarters.
Fourth quarter
Key play: West Virginia’s Dustin Garrison finished off the blowout with a 26-yard touchdown run.
Key stat: West Virginia finished with 647 yards of total offense, the fourth straight game a KU opponent has surpassed 500 yards.
Report card
Offense: D. James Sims hit the 1,000-yard milestone, but KU once again struggled to score against a sub-par defense. The passing game must improve.
Defense: F. What happened to the progress? Smith exposed KU’s secondary, and the Jayhawks looked like one of the worst units in the country for the second straight game.
Special teams: B. Give credit to kicker Nick Prolago. He came on midseason and gave the Jayhawks a chance to convert short field goals. He made one from 32 yards on Saturday.
Coaching: D. Charlie Weis’ next challenge is on the recruiting trail. Still, it’s alarming KU wasn’t able to equal its two victories from last season.
Player of the game
Smith finished 23 for 24 for 407 yards, tying the NCAA record for completion percentage (95.8 percent). He also set a West Virginia record with 21 straight completions.
Reason to hope
Kansas should be favored in its next game. But the Jayhawks will have to wait until Sept. 7, 2013 to play South Dakota.
Reason to mope
Pick a number. Twenty-one straight Big 12 losses. No road victories in three seasons. Zero victories against BCS-level teams.
— Rustin Dodd
