WVU football’s offense set to face ‘best defense’ it’s played so far in trip to Iowa State
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MORGANTOWN -- Iowa State was picked to finish last in the Big 12 by most media outlets. Long-time head coach Matt Campbell took the job at Penn State, and he brought most of the best players on the roster and coaches with him to Happy Valley.
Campbell did the impossible and made the Cyclones relevant in football, which is why he landed the job with the Nittany Lions. But it made it even harder when he decided to leave. Now, it's up to Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers to rebuild at a hard stop in the middle of Iowa.
Through four games, the season hasn't been as disastrous as most thought, sitting at 2-2, with the two losses coming to top 25 opponents. Iowa State was competitive against Iowa, losing by three, and played Utah close for a little.
The Cyclones’ early success has been because of their top-ranked defense. Even after playing two top 25 teams, Iowa State's defense is allowing 16 points per game, which is tied for 30th in the FBS. The Cyclones haven't allowed a score in the third quarter.
"They really challenge you defensively," Rodriguez said. "This is probably the best defense we’ve played. In fact, pretty sure it’s probably the best defense we’ve played so far this year."
Rogers is a defensive-minded coach and has shown it over his career. Last year at Washington State, Rogers' defense allowed a little over 20 points per game. The Cougars played some high-caliber opponents too. Washington State lost by three to Ole Miss, two points to Virginia and four to James Madison -- almost all three of those teams were in the College Football Playoff last year. Rogers held all three of those teams to under 25 points scored.
"They’ve been a good program for a long time, but Jimmy’s done a great job with the transition of bringing some of his guys in with Washington State," Rodriguez said. "I’m just talking defensively, playing really good football."
Rogers, like most new head coaches, brought a lot of players with him from Washington State. Most of the best players were on defense.
Linebacker Sullivan Schlimgen, who leads the team in tackles, safeties Carson Willich and Brody Miller, sack leader defensive end Isaac Terrell, and other members of the defensive line all transferred over from Washington State.
They know the system, and that's a big reason it's working at Iowa State.
"You can tell the five or six guys on defense that he took over from Washington State are all really good players, and that they understand the system. They did a good job," Rodriguez said. "They got the best players from Washington State to transfer there and know their system defensively, so they do a really good job."
Running the ball might be challenging for the Mountaineers. WVU's had its way through the first four games moving the ball on the ground, tallying the most rushing yards out of Power Four schools.
Iowa State's rushing ranks top 50 in the FBS, giving up 113 yards a game. Rodriguez pointed to the Cyclones' sound tackling being a major reason it’s hard to move the ball on the ground.
"The one thing is they’re in the right spot, but if you’re in the right spot, you still got to tackle well," Rodriguez said. "They don’t miss a lot of tackles, and so that’s going to be a challenge for us, too. We got to get our guys in open space, and then hopefully we can break a tackle or two."
Iowa State is even better at defending the pass. The Cyclones are 16th in the country in pass defense. The secondary doesn't allow a lot of big plays.
WVU's passing attack works its best when quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. is hitting D.J. Epps for a big gain over the middle of the field. That option might not be available. Rodriguez will have to get creative.
"They’ll pressure you some, they’ll man, and they’ll blitz it and force you to take some shots," Rodriguez said. "But they have not given up very many big plays at all."
WVU's defense received a lot of flak in the loss to Oklahoma State, but Rodriguez's offense in the second half wasn't great either. Rodriguez said he thought he was impatient at times calling plays, where he could've taken a shot, but elected for a run.
Playing Iowa State, Rodriguez and the offense will need to get the miscues corrected because the Cyclones have one of the best defenses in the country.
"(Rogers)'s done a terrific job," Rodriguez said. "You could tell that their kids play hard. They’re well coached. They’re in the right spot, defensively. Like I said, I think it’s the best defense we played so far."