Kansas State football remains laser focused on West Virginia — and nothing else

If the past month has taught Kansas State one thing, it's that college football success — and control — can be fleeting.

The road to Arlington, Texas, and the Dec. 3 Big 12 championship game, is filled with potholes and sometimes more closely resembles a rollercoaster.

While last week's impressive 31-3 victory at Baylor, combined with a Texas loss to TCU, put the Wildcats in control of their own destiny, a slip-up in either of their last two regular-season games could easily have them back on the outside looking in.

"We always say we have 24 hours to celebrate, and then we're right back to work," said senior linebacker Daniel Green on Tuesday as the Wildcats launched into preparation for Saturday's 1 p.m. road game against West Virginia at Milan Puskar Stadium. "It's what have you done for me lately, so we can't ride on past success.

"It's all about the new week and a new opponent."

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The Wildcats (7-3, 5-2 Big 12) learned that lesson with each of their two league losses. They were tied for the lead with TCU before falling to the Horned Frogs, and then jumped out of a three-way tie and into sole possession of second place the following week by demolishing Oklahoma State, 48-0.

A week after that came a disappointing 31-24 home loss against Texas, and suddenly there was zero margin for error, with K-State needing a Longhorn loss to be back in control.

That's just what they got last week when the Longhorns fell 17-10 to TCU. But that wasn't on the forefront of their minds after dismantling Baylor 31-3 last week.

"We didn't know until later that Texas had lost," senior center Hayden Gillum said. "That was one thing that coach (Chris) Klieman urged us to do. He said, even after the game, 'We're going to enjoy this win. We came out and did what we set out to do and we're going to win ballgames and go 1-0.'

"We were excited about the win. It's nice to be in control of your own destiny, but it's something that coach has done a good job of keeping everybody on track with what we have to do, and let the rest take care of itself."

Quarterback Will Howard, who came on for injured starter Adrian Martinez against Baylor, agreed.

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"I like to think we don't really think about the Big 12 championship, but to be in the spot that we're in is pretty cool," said Howard, who will get the start at West Virginia. "There's a couple of games left, and we've just got to finish.

"Two more games, that's what we're focusing on right now, is West Virginia this week and then Kansas. We like to play one game at a time. Having the process mindset is what has helped us to this point and what will continue to help us."

Up next is a Mountaineers team fighting for its postseason life, needing to win its last two games to be bowl eligible. The Mountaineers (4-6, 2-5) kept that hope alive last week by knocking off Oklahoma at home, 23-20, and are 3-2 this year in Morgantown.

"It's a big challenge for us," said offensive lineman Hadley Panzer. "We look at it week by week. Not looking ahead or looking back at anything, just focus on taking it one week at a time, one day at a time."

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Running back Deuce Vaughn was doing postgame interviews when he learned that Texas had lost to TCU.

"It was big-time, just for the fact that we understood that we needed some help," he said. "(But) it can't enter your thinking that you control your own destiny, because it's one of those things where you have to go and play these football games to win, no matter what.

"We got to this point in the season taking it day by day, understanding that it's a process. We're process driven. So even if we need help, if we needed somebody to lose and needed somebody to win, we have to attack these games the same way, with the same focus we've had all season, to be successful."

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Here's why Kansas State football is focused squarely on West Virginia