Two teams coming off disappointing home losses will try to get back on track when West Virginia pays Iowa State a visit on Saturday in Ames, Iowa.
West Virginia (3-1, Big 12 0-1) just suffered its first loss of the season, falling 41-24 at home against Oklahoma State. The Mountaineers gave up the final 20 points of the game after holding a 24-21 lead late in the third quarter. West Virginia allowed 609 yards of total offense in the loss.
Early in his second stint as West Virginia’s head coach, Rich Rodriguez said there have been many stretches when his team hasn’t played good football, even in its three wins. Not putting together a complete game finally bit his squad against Oklahoma State.
“We are still learning our guys a little bit because there are so many new starters,” he said. “They are very conscious and are good players. Whatever adjustments we need to make as a coaching staff, they’ll buy into it, so I feel good about that.
“This week is a different challenge. (Iowa State will) do so many different things formationally, schematically and with personnel on offense that it’s a complete different challenge. We’ve got to be ready to go.”
On the other side, Iowa State (2-2, Big 12 0-1) is coming off a 31-17 home loss to then-No. 15 Utah, a game in which the Cyclones fell behind 24-3 at halftime.
Iowa State coach Jimmy Rogers lamented what he said were 29 missed tackles against Utah and hopes they can be rectified on Saturday.
“They do a really good job in their scheme and they are really fast,” Rogers said of West Virginia. “Everybody needs to get their feet into the ground, get aligned, get their eyes right, know the call and then execute the plan.”
The matchup will feature two of the best running backs in the Big 12.
West Virginia senior Cam Cook leads the league in rushing with 510 yards on 99 carries, while Iowa State sophomore Aiden Flora is fourth with 382 rushing yards and is averaging 7.5 yards per carry.
