West Virginia’s defense left Stillwater with a mess on its hands, and the reaction has been just as loud as the performance itself. Against Oklahoma State, the Mountaineers were beaten in just about every way possible - no pressure up front, shaky communication on the back end, missed tackles across the board, and a dime look that kept Zac Alley’s unit stuck in place for most of the night.
It was the kind of outing that dragged back bad memories for West Virginia fans. Oklahoma State didn’t need one route or one concept to beat the Mountaineers; the Cowboys had answers for everything.
Inside zone, stretch, quick game, deep shots - whatever they wanted, they got it. For a fan base already on edge, that kind of showing can turn one bad night into a full-blown worry.
Rich Rodriguez isn’t ready to treat it like a disaster, though. He pointed to different problems in the first two games and said the latest breakdowns were tied to more than just talent.
"The first game, I was upset because we gave up some big plays because we lost containment and let the quarterback scramble around and make big plays. And then this game, we gave up a lot of big plays because, one, we didn't get any pressure on the quarterback, but two, our eyes were bad on some of the coverages that we had.
We gave him all kinds of time to run around and let guys get that far deep. When you're throwing a deep ball as much as they did and you have that much time to throw it, it's hard for anybody to cover it.
You could look at it as personnel, or you could look at it as, geez, schematically, we've got to help them out a little bit better. I think it's a combination of a lot of stuff.
After watching the film, it wasn't like, 'Oh, these guys can't play in the secondary.' I didn't sense that at all.
We got to put these guys in a better position to be able to play or defend those plays."
That’s the heart of it. This didn’t look like a defense that simply got outrun every snap.
A lot of the damage came from busted eyes, bad fits, and a first-time look at the 3-2-6 scheme they rolled out for the first time all season. The game plan, more than anything else, seemed to leave the Mountaineers exposed.
Still, the problems are real, and they have to be cleaned up. There were warning signs against the pass in the first two games, even against lesser opponents.
Alley has work to do, and part of that job is making things simpler for a defense that’s still getting comfortable in the system. Too much information can slow a group down, and West Virginia has already felt that early in the season.
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Phil Steele Still Believes West Virginia Can Rebound Against Iowa State
West Virginias rough defensive showing against Oklahoma State left plenty of questions, but Phil Steele isnt ready to write off the Mountaineers just yet. He pointed to the matchup with Iowa State as a chance for West Virginia to steady itself, saying he still sees the Mountaineers as the better team heading into the weekend.
Even with West Virginia listed as an underdog, Steele expects the Mountaineers to be in position to either win outright or at least cover the spread. He also weighed in on a slate of other college football games set for the weekend, but his West Virginia takeaway was the one that stood out: a rebound still looks possible. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Faces A Familiar Road Test With Its Slide Suddenly In Focus
West Virginia heads to Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday for a noon kickoff against Iowa State, with the matchup set to air on TNT, truTV and HBO Max. It is the kind of road test that can sharpen the picture for both teams, since they enter at 6-6 and the Cyclones are a short 3.5-point favorite, a sign that neither side has much margin for error.
For the Mountaineers, the trip carries the feel of a familiar proving ground, the sort of place where recent frustrations can either keep snowballing or be interrupted in a hurry. The numbers and personnel notes leading into this one point to a game with plenty of details to sort through, but the bigger question remains whether WVU can stabilize its slide in an environment that rarely makes that easy. [Read more 🡒]