WVU football’s high-powered offense faces toughest defense this season heading to TCU
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MORGANTOWN -- West Virginia's offense has been firing on all cylinders to start Big 12, despite the 1-3 record. The Mountaineers have put up 500 yards of offense three out of four conference games, and in the lone one where they didn't, they still racked up 400. WVU has the fourth-best scoring offense and top rushing offense in the Big 12.
The Mountaineers’ offense might come to a screeching halt, though. WVU heads to TCU this weekend to play the best defense in the Big 12. The Horned Frogs are first in scoring and total offense. Nationally, TCU is eighth in total defense and third in scoring.
"Best defense in the league," Rich Rodriguez said. "I think statistically, they’re number one in most of the categories. Very athletic. They know what they’re doing. They play hard. Andy (Avalos) does a great job with their defense. Been there for a few years. Don’t give up anything easy."
Defensive coordinator Andy Avalos joined head coach Sonny Dykes' staff in 2023. Since then, Avalos' defense has only improved, from back-to-back years at No. 9. His defense has been on fire to start Big 12 play, and hasn't allowed more than 21 points against Power Four opponents. No. 2 BYU only scored 17 points, who is coming off a win over top 5 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish have one of the better defenses on paper, and the Cougars racked up 28 points.
Avalos' strength is his pass defense. TCU allows the least amount of passing yards in the conference. The Horned Frogs have a bunch of playmakers in the secondary, even after losing All-Big 12 safety Bud Clark. Gil Jackson Jr. and Colorado transfer Teon Parks have both stepped up. Jackson leads the team with four pass breakups.
The pass rush is talented, too, highlighted by pass rusher Koron Hayward, who leads the Big 12 with 4.5 sacks. The Horned Frogs pass rush as a whole has 14 sacks on the year. WVU's offensive line will be tested. The Mountaineers have allowed the fifth-most sacks in the conference.
With that secondary and a pass rush, WVU doesn't want to get into third-and-long situations.
"As athletic up front as anybody that I’ve seen in the last couple years," Rodriguez said. "Very athletic and can make you look silly. We got to stay away from third-and-longs. That’s when they do a lot of their stuff. Their different blitzes and their different games. You got to stay out of third and longs."
Running the ball on the first two plays will be really important to stay ahead of the chains. WVU has run the ball the best in the Power Four, and is only behind the Naval Academies and Texas State as far as the whole country. The duo of Cam Cook, who is fifth in the country in rushing, and the country's leading rusher at quarterback, Michael Hawkins Jr., has been working to perfection.
But when facing Cincinnati's rush defense, WVU struggled to run the ball. The Mountaineers ran for a season-low 134 rushing yards. WVU had to beat the Bearcats through the air on the back of Hawkins' career-high 464 passing yards.
TCU has a strong rushing defense, but it's not nearly as good as the pass defense. The Horned Frogs are sixth in the Big 12, allowing for some opportunities for Cook and Hawkins to get the rushing attack going.
"We got to be able to run the ball better than we ran it Saturday, but that’s going to be a challenge because they’re pretty stout against that as well," Rodriguez said. "Got a big week to get ready."
It hasn't mattered what defense Rodriguez’s offense has faced; they’ve answered the challenge. This is by far the toughest test yet, and if the Mountaineers want to win back-to-back games, especially with the defense playing poorly, WVU's offense will have to continue to be on point.
"It'll be, probably to this date, the best maybe the best defense we've played so far," Rodriguez said. "We got that challenge."