MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Through three games, it’s not hard to figure out Kansas State’s Achilles heel in 2018.
The Wildcats already have fumbled seven times with opponents capitalizing on four of those mistakes. K-State only lost five fumbles all of last season. In 2012, when the Wildcats were among the nation’s best teams, they lost just three fumbles over the course of a 13-game season.
A lack of ball security isn’t something veteran coach Bill Snyder is used to seeing from his squad.
“One that we lost was a great defensive play and perhaps unavoidable,” Snyder said. “The rest was being careless with the football and probably a significant indication of self-discipline and focus. That’s something we’re working on, not just in the turnover arena.”
The trouble has not escaped West Virginia’s notice.
“It would be nice for us to get a fumble,” said Mountaineers defensive coordinator Tony Gibson.
So far, West Virginia (2-0) has yet to recover one. The only takeaway was Dravon Askew-Henry’s interception against Youngstown State.
“We do a turnover circuit every day to start practice,” Gibson said. “Our guys have to be aware and punch the ball every opportunity we get.”
Running back Alex Barnes certainly will be targeted. He had a rough start to the season, putting the ball on the turf three times in the opener as K-State eked out a 27-24 win over FCS member South Dakota.
“There’s a countless number of ways a ball can be knocked loose from your arm,” Snyder said. “You need to be able to replicate the situations that occur. There’s ways to prevent the ball [from] knocking loose. Our coaches try diligently to do that.”
Barnes hasn’t fumbled since, but his teammates have. Quarterbacks Skylar Thompson and Alex Shelton combined for three fumbles last week against Texas-San Antonio.
West Virginia linebacker David Long is taking the attitude that the defense needs to attack and create more havoc.
“I did see that they fumbled a few times. We’re definitely going to try to capitalize on it,” Long said. “We only have like one turnover, so we need more.”