WVU football, unbeaten Iowa State to meet in primetime Coal Rush game

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The last time there was this much buzz around a football game in Morgantown, things did not go so well for the Mountaineers.

WVU’s Week 1 game against Penn State was the biggest home opener at Milan Puskar Stadium since 1998. What seemed like the entire state flocked to Morgantown for the grudge match against the Nittany Lions in a game that was billed as the start of a new era for WVU football. There were pregame rallies, concerts and a general excitement leading up to the season that washed over the WVU community.

The ensuing loss was a gut punch to WVU players, staff and fans alike, but several circumstances have led to another home game of equal weight this weekend at Milan Puskar Stadium. No. 11 Iowa State (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) is the highest-ranked team in the Big 12 and 5-0 for the first time since 1980.

The Mountaineers (3-2, 2-0 Big 12) can redeem themselves Saturday with a win in the highly anticipated Coal Rush game in Morgantown.

“All the other stuff that was around [the Penn State] game, we’re just not going to allow that for this one and just kind of put our blinders on and go,” WVU head coach Neal Brown said.

As an unranked team with a pair of early-season losses, WVU looks like it has less to lose than the Cyclones, but the Mountaineers’ 2-0 conference record essentially puts them on equal standing with Iowa State. The two programs are two of five teams that are still unbeaten in Big 12 play.

The Cyclones’ first two wins of the Big 12 season came in dominant fashion with a shutout win over Houston on the road and a 43-21 thrashing of Baylor in Ames.

So far, Iowa State’s defense has been the key to its undefeated record. The Cyclones are allowing a conference-low 10.0 points per game, and there have only been two games this season (Iowa, Baylor) in which they allowed multiple touchdowns. North Dakota, Arkansas State and Houston combined to score just 10 points against Iowa State.

Teams are finding success against Iowa State on the ground, as the Cyclones are allowing 138 rushing yards per game, but their passing defense is the best in the conference so far this season. Iowa State (133.6 passing yards allowed per game) is the only team holding its opponents to fewer than 150 passing yards each week.

“Statistically, you can look at it. It speaks for themselves,” Brown said. “I don’t need to get up here and talk a whole bunch , you just look at the stat sheet, and it tells you what you need to know about them defensively.”

The Iowa State offense is led by Rocco Becht, the son of now-WVU Sports Hall of Famer Anthony Becht, who will be honored Saturday. Rocco Becht is averaging 158.5 passing yards per game with a 56.9% completion rate, nine touchdowns and three interceptions.

“Offensively, they’re balanced,” Brown said. “Very multiple. They’ve ran the ball extremely well the last three weeks. They shift. They motion. A lot of different tight ends play.”

WVU undoubtedly came out of its open week with new fervor in a 38-14 win over Oklahoma State. The Mountaineers nearly doubled the Cowboys’ offensive output, in terms of yardage, last week in Stillwater, and WVU also out-rushed Oklahoma State 389-36.

But perhaps WVU’s most impactful improvements are in the passing game on defense. After their loss to Pitt, the Mountaineers were averaging 280 passing yards allowed each week to opposing quarterbacks.

They allowed just 187.5 passing yards per game in their wins over Kansas and Oklahoma State to open Big 12 play.

“You have to have some built-in rules [in coverage], and so, I think as we’ve simplified, what we’ve done is we’ve got a better understanding of what those rules are,” Brown said. “We’re executing those rules, and we’re doing a better job of getting to our landmarks at our depths.

“It’s kind of boring, [but] that’s really the reason why we’re playing better.”

WVU is also 2-0 since defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley made the decision to coach from the press box instead of on the sideline.

The Mountaineers continue to put points on the board as the season goes on. They sport the No. 6 scoring offense in the Big 12. Only three teams (UCF, Cincinnati, Texas Tech) average more yards per game than WVU’s weekly output of 439.6 yards per game.

A win for WVU would also mark the first time the Mountaineers open Big 12 play 3-0 in the Neal Brown era.

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