MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In their season finale, the Kansas Jayhawks lost 59-10 to the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday afternoon at Mountaineer Field.
After losing 11 straight games, Kansas (1-11, 0-9 Big 12) finishes the season with its worst record since 1989.
West Virginia (7-5, 4-5 Big 12) put the hammer down early, and never took their foot off the gas. The Mountaineers racked up a total of 647 yards on offense, while the Jayhawks managed just 274.
After an interception by KU junior cornerback Tyler Patmon, and a 33-yard drive midway through the first quarter, the Jayhawks found themselves down 7-0 with the ball at West Virginia’s 24 yard line. A pass by KU senior quarterback Dayne Crist was picked off by freshman safety Karl Joseph at the one yard line, and the Hawks never bounced back.
Mountaineers senior QB Geno Smith had a field day, and threw for over 400 yards and three touchdowns. An eight-yard pass from Smith to junior wide receiver Stedman Bailey put the Mountaineers up 21-0 with 11:34 to play in the second quarter.
KU answered with an 80-yd TD drive. A one-yard rushing TD by junior running back James Sims narrowed the gap to 21-7. Smith threw an eight-yard TD pass to senior WR J.D. Woods before the half to give the Mountaineers a 35-7 lead at the break.
West Virginia senior WR Tavon Austin finished the game with four catches for 110 yards. He also had 12 carries for 77 yards and one TD.
Nine of the 10 schools in the Big 12 are bowl eligible this season. Kansas has not won a conference game since 2010.
