West Virginia’s defense may finally be settling into something that works.
For much of the season, Zac Alley’s group has been hunting for answers after getting beat through the air and on the ground during the first four weeks of conference play. But the signs of life were there before the TCU game, starting with the Week 3 win over Virginia and carrying into the final drive against Cincinnati, when the Mountaineers got a stop and gave Mike Hawkins Jr. and Co. a chance to go finish the job.
That pattern showed up again against TCU.
The cleanest version of it is simple: stop the run, heat up the quarterback, and make the other side earn every yard. Against Virginia, West Virginia did that by nearly erasing Beau Pribula on the ground, limiting him to eight carries for -1 yard, while the Cavaliers averaged 3.1 yards per carry once Xavier Brown’s 47-yard run was removed. The Mountaineers also got 18 pressures and three sacks in that game.
Against TCU, the formula held. The Frogs were held to 112 rushing yards, which came out to 3.2 per carry, and Jaden Craig was under pressure 29 times and sacked five times. TCU’s backfield was depleted, but that still had to be handled, especially compared with Arizona’s passing game, which had been missing three of its top four receivers when the Horned Frogs defended it.
What stood out most was how West Virginia handled the bad field position. Every TCU drive ended in WVU territory, but the Frogs still came away with only 20 points. The Mountaineers forced two fumbles, added an interception, and got a turnover on downs to keep the damage in check.
That is where the identity starts to take shape. This isn’t about pretending the defense has become something it isn’t. It’s about getting off the field, even if the other team has already crossed midfield.
And unlike earlier in the year, the explosives were not nearly as damaging.
TCU did hit a few chunk plays, but none of the Frogs’ biggest completions turned into the kind of back-breaking mistake that had haunted WVU before. Their three longest gains - 38, 37, and 32 yards - all ended in a punt, a turnover on downs, and an interception.
That’s where the “bend, but don’t break” label starts to fit, whether anyone wants to embrace it or not.
It’s not the flashiest defensive identity, but if West Virginia can keep stacking stops in plus territory the way it did against TCU, that has to count for something. The bye week does not need to produce a complete overhaul or turn this into a middle-of-the-pack Big 12 defense. It just needs to help the unit stay connected on long drives, force offenses to work, and create a chance.
The Mountaineers have already shown they can hold up in the red zone. Through the season, opponents are scoring on 76% of their red-zone trips, which ranks 26th nationally, and touchdowns are being scored on 56% of those chances, which ranks 59th nationally.
Sports Info Solutions also showed that against TCU, West Virginia leaned more into a one-shell look than usual, using it 9% more than average, while blitzing less, at 4% below average. Even with that approach, the pressure still came.
For a defense that has spent so much of the season searching, that might be the clearest sign yet that it has found at least part of the formula.
In Other News...
WVUs Offense Has Two Stars But One Big Stretch-Run Concern
West Virginias offense has leaned heavily on a pair of stars through the bye week, and the numbers help explain why the unit has looked so dangerous at times. Quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. has played at an elite level, while running back Cam Cook has been one of the most productive backs in the country, ranking third nationally in rushing yards. The rest of the offense has been a mixed bag by comparison, with the articles grades and snap counts showing a group that has delivered enough support to keep the Mountaineers moving, but not always with the same week-to-week consistency.
The stretch run will be about whether West Virginia can get more from the pieces around those two difference-makers. The bye week gives the staff a chance to reset, evaluate where the offense has been strong and where the weak spots have shown up, and then decide what changes might help as the season resumes. For a team with obvious firepower at quarterback and running back, the bigger question is whether the supporting cast can rise enough to keep the offense from becoming too dependent on Hawkins and Cook. [Read more 🡒]
WVUs November Gauntlet Will Decide Whether This Season Becomes More
West Virginias path to a bigger finish this season is about to get a lot clearer, and a lot harder. At 5-3, the Mountaineers have put themselves in position to make the final month matter, but the schedule ahead brings three ranked opponents into the mix and leaves little room for a slip if they want to turn a solid season into something more meaningful.
ESPNs FPI matchup predictor does not exactly make the road look inviting in the final four games, and the numbers reflect what the eye test already suggests about the challenges ahead. The good news for West Virginia is that the season is still sitting on a knifes edge, which means November can still push this group toward a strong finish. The bad news is that the margin for error shrinks quickly when the opposition gets this steep. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia May Have A Star QB It Can't Take For Granted
Mike Hawkins Jr. has been one of the biggest reasons West Virginias offense has looked dangerous this fall. The Mountaineers quarterback is drawing national attention for production that goes well beyond the box score, sitting ninth among quarterbacks in PFF grades while piling up efficiency marks that separate the truly productive passers from the merely busy ones.
Hawkins has also given West Virginia a rare blend of explosiveness and restraint, leading the nation in rushing touchdowns while ranking near the top in yards per completion and adjusted yards per pass attempt. The deeper concern for the Mountaineers is how much of that growth has come from a quarterback who is making difficult throws, creating chunk plays and limiting mistakes despite a completion rate shaped by aggressive downfield attempts and a few too many drops around him. [Read more 🡒]