Rich Rodriguez had plenty to unpack on Monday’s Coaches Show, and the biggest takeaway was simple: West Virginia has issues to clean up fast, especially on defense, before heading into Iowa State.
Rodriguez said Armoni Bomar-Weaver is dealing with a hand problem. “He has a finger issue, we don't know what his availability will be.”
The Oklahoma State loss still lingered, and Rodriguez didn’t hide from it. He praised the setting and the energy around the game, but made it clear the performance didn’t match it.
“It was a great atmosphere, the crowd was fantastic, but we didn't play well. We certaintly didn't play well on defense.
We played OK on offense but there were a couple drives we should've scored on but didn't, and when you're playing a game like that where your defense is really struggling, you can't miss short yardage opportunities or stuff like that. It was disappointing, I thought our players played pretty hard, but they looked disjointed at times, especially on defense.
We have to fix that.”
He was even more direct when asked about the defensive breakdowns.
“What we tried to do... We didn't do.
Our plan wasn't good enough, pretty simple. Our adjustments weren't good enough.
We didn't make it happen, we gotta give them a little bit of credit, too. But there's nothing I saw that we can't fix, that's the good part.
There's stuff we gotta fix in a hurry and that's our job as coaches.”
Rodriguez also pointed to the way Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker handled the game once he settled in.
“They probably saw some things, but if you let the quarterback get comfortable back there, you're going to have a long day. We let him get more than comfortable.”
On offense, he said the group had some success on the ground and put together a few long possessions, even if the passing game wasn’t as clean as it needed to be.
“We weren't particularly sharp on some big passing plays, but we ran the ball pretty good. We had a couple really long drives, which is kind of strange when you go up-tempo, but those drives kept our defense off the field, which was pretty good.”
He also broke down Michael Hawkins’ interception, saying the play was executed properly until the ball was tipped.
“He made the right read, threw it to the right guy, it's a touchdown if we complete it. It just got tipped, the guy on defense made a great play to tip the ball and their guy happened to be sitting right there to get it.”
Rodriguez said JaCorey Thoams is still getting acclimated, while NaQuari Rogers gives the room another option.
“[Thomas] is going to learn. We made a couple moves in the backend to try and get guys in positions they're more comfortable with.
He can help us, he played in a good league and he's a mature guy. But he's only been practicing for three weeks.
And we've got another guy to help us in the running back room.”
Looking ahead to Iowa State, Rodriguez described a defense that brings speed, experience and plenty of familiarity with its system.
“They play really hard, they got a bunch of guys who transferred in from Washington State who was really good on defense last year. I think five of their starters on defense were starters at Washington State and played in that system with their coach.
That Utah loss was a one possession game until the last minute or so. Iowa is a really good football team and they went down to the last minute.
Playing at home is a different environment, and they really challenge you defensively. This will be the best defense we've played so far this year.
Their quarterback is talented and experienced, he played at Arkansas State. He's been starting for a couple years, so we better get better on defense.”
He closed with a roster-building point that sounded very much like a long view, not a quick fix.
“We can get a few seniors in the portal, but we need a lot of guys to come back and build our program that way, I feel like that's the best path forward for us.”
And when it came back to Hawkins, Rodriguez said the quarterback is still developing and will keep growing, but the next test is a difficult one.
“I think he's going to continue to grow, he made some great individual plays, and there's a couple you'd like to have back. The interception was just a good play by the defensive guy.
Maybe we could've thrown it a little sooner off the play action part of it. The good part about Mike is that he sees as he goes.
If he misses something, he already knows. He will continue to grow but we have to continue to grow as well.
The biggest challenge for him will be the environment [at Iowa State]. We had a home game in Charlotte.”
In Other News...
West Virginia Faces A Bigger Defensive Concern Than One Bad Loss
West Virginias loss to Oklahoma State was not the kind you can pin on one bad quarter or one lopsided stat sheet. The Mountaineers actually had some encouraging numbers on defense and put up a strong rushing total, but the film still told a more troubling story. The new defensive scheme was supposed to help unsettle an opponent that likes to push the ball, yet Oklahoma State found too many ways to hit big plays and keep the pressure on.
What made the defeat sting was how often West Virginia let those chances slip through its hands. Missed tackles piled up, explosive plays came too easily, and the staff admitted the game plan simply did not work as intended. For a team trying to build momentum, the bigger concern is not just the result itself, but whether the defensive issues exposed in this one are tied to a deeper problem than a single rough afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Fans Get A Coal Rush Twist They Werent Expecting
West Virginias October 10 matchup with Arizona now has a start time and a national TV home, and it comes with an early kickoff that should give Mountaineer fans plenty of time to settle in. The Big 12 announced the game will kick at 12 p.m. ET in Morgantown and air on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max, adding another layer of visibility to a nonconference meeting that already carries some curiosity.
Arizona arrives with a little momentum after improving to 3-1 with a win over Washington State, while West Virginia will be trying to build on the familiarity of a series that has been played only once before. The Mountaineers won that 2021 meeting 31-26, and this years game lands in the middle of a busy stretch for the Wildcats, who will turn around and face Cincinnati in a late kickoff the following week. [Read more 🡒]
Rich Rod's Offense Is Giving West Virginia Fans A Real Concern
Rich Rodriguezs latest West Virginia offense is already drawing attention because it looks different from the ones fans remember from his earlier coaching stops. Through four games, the Mountaineers are throwing on just 22% of their offensive snaps, a notably lower rate than Rodriguez has typically used over the course of his career. For a coach long associated with pace and spread principles, that tilt toward the run has become one of the early-season talking points around the program.
The reasons are not hard to see, at least in broad terms. Pass protection has been an issue, and the receiver play has also factored into the equation, making it easier to understand why the offense has leaned so heavily on the ground game. Still, the bigger question hovering over West Virginia is whether a more balanced approach would make the attack harder to defend and more effective overall, even if the current numbers suggest Rodriguez is still searching for the right mix. [Read more 🡒]