MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — At the end of a third-down scramble, Will Grier saw tacklers closing in and made a feet-first slide.
Nonetheless, Kansas linebacker Joe Dineen and another defender popped him as he hit the turf.
Grier’s helmet came off and he stood with arms raised expecting a flag that never came.
Coach Dana Holgorsen marched out on the field in protest.
The officials gave “no explanation,” Grier said. “But that’s fine. I’m in one piece and we’re moving forward.”
Long, Rose combine for interception
David Long wasn’t supposed to blitz, but went at the Kansas quarterback upon noticing Carter Stanley faking the play-action. That made for a narrow window, and Long jumped to tip Carter’s pass, resulting in an interception by defensive end Ezekiel Rose.
“I hope they do,” Long said, when asked if he deserved a half-interception. “Throughout the week we had seen that the quarterback throws low. So I just got my hands up, patted the ball down and Zeke made a good play on the ball.”
Delay of game on defense?
One of the rarest penalties in football was called three times in the first half. Both teams were hit with delay of game penalties on defense – two against Kansas and one against West Virginia.
The flag is thrown when officials can hear defensive players attempting to simulate the offensive snap count and force a bad snap or false start.
Offensive tackle Colton McKivitz said KU defenders barking cadences led to shaky snaps by Mountaineers center Matt Jones on two series.
“It was definitely addressed to the line judge, saying ‘These guys are yelling to get us to jump,” McKivitz said. “I think they did a pretty good job of hearing it to settle it down.”
Hensley replaces Tonkery
Junior Adam Hensley spent most of the fourth quarter at Dylan Tonkery’s middle linebacker spot. Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said Tonkery was “hobbled a little bit.”
Fellow linebacker David Long said Hensley filled in just fine.
“Next man in, gotta come in and make plays,” Long said. “Hensley did a great job of doing that.”
Hensley made two tackles.
Quotable
“I don’t recall them having a big bomb of a catch that they are known for just about every game.” — Kansas coach David Beaty
“We’re the only undefeated team in the Big 12, so let’s keep fighting, let’s keep getting better, because It’s going to get a lot harder.” — West Virginia offensive coordinator Jake Spavital
Crunching numbers
10 — Tackles by West Virginia’s David Long, his fourth game this season in double-figures.
32 — Marvel Comics films released since Kansas last won a Big 12 road game in October 2008.
— Alex Hickey contributed to this article.