Kansas State vs. West Virginia: Big 12 showdown could define season

Saturday night's huge Big 12 matchup between the No. 4 Kansas State Wildcats and No. 17 West Virginia Mountaineers perhaps lost some of its luster with West Virginia's blowout upset at the hands of the Texas Tech Red Raiders last weekend. But that doesn't mean the game has any less importance, especially to the undefeated Wildcats.

At 6-0 and 3-0 in the conference, a win over West Virginia would not only allow the Wildcats to keep a hold on first place in the Big 12, but show the rest of the conference's contenders the Wildcats don't intend to leave their perch anytime soon. Texas Tech, West Virginia, TCU and Oklahoma all sit right behind with one conference loss apiece. The Wildcats play Texas Tech on Oct. 27.

West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith will be looking to rebound from his worst game of the season and get his Heisman candidacy back on track. KSU quarterback Collin Klein has Heisman aspirations all his own after leading his team to a tough win at Iowa State.

West Virginia hosts Kansas State on Saturday, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. CT. The game will be televised nationally by FOX.