Saturday, November 5
Ames, Iowa
3:30 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
Iowa State
Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
United Bank Playbook - Iowa State Preview
November 02, 2022 10:23 AM | Football
| Tale of the Tape |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Points Per Game | 21.6 | 34.4 |
| Points Against | 16.6 | 34.6 |
| Rushing Yards Per Game | 97.2 | 172.0 |
| Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game | 114.9 | 133.0 |
| Passing Yards Per Game | 272.9 | 263.8 |
| Passing Yards Allowed Per Game | 180.1 | 283.9 |
| Total Yards Per Game | 370.1 | 435.8 |
| Total Yards Allowed Per Game | 295.0 | 416.9 |
| First Downs For | 158 | 206 |
| First Downs Against | 130 | 171 |
| Fumbles/Lost | 8/4 | 9/5 |
| Interceptions/Return Yards | 4/66 | 3/33 |
| Net Punting | 39.3 | 40.1 |
| Field Goal/Attempts | 11/15 | 12/12 |
| Time of Possession | 31:25 | 32:27 |
| 3rd Down Conversions | 57/129 | 58/121 |
| 3rd Down Conversion Defense | 35/104 | 44/103 |
| Sacks By/Yards Lost | 12/99 | 15/113 |
Iowa State also has the conference's top pass defense (180.3 ypg.) and the top scoring defense (1.6 ppg.).
In the second half of games this season, the stingy Cyclones are permitting just six points and 114.1 yards, while blanking three of their seven foes this year after intermission.
And there's more … ISU's defense is fifth in the Big 12 in takeaways with 11 and over the last two seasons, the Cyclones have had 19 games of holding their opponents to less than 400 yards of total offense, tied for the second-most nationally.
Currently, Iowa State is working on a streak of 11 straight games of not allowing more than 400 total yards dating back to last season.
"Statistically, they are the best defense in the Big 12 and their video is very impressive," West Virginia coach Neal Brown said.
In last Saturday's loss to Oklahoma, 14 of the Sooners' 27 points came on a fake field goal and an interception return to the Iowa State 1.
Four of the Cyclones' five Big 12 loss this year have been by margins of seven (Baylor), three (Kansas), one (Kansas State) and three (Texas).
Fourteen more points strategically placed would mean a difference of four more victories and a 7-1 overall record instead of the present 3-5 mark. That's how close Iowa State has been this season.
Veteran defensive coordinator Jon Heacock has five regulars with at least three letters, including senior defensive end Will McDonald (6-foot-3, 236 pounds), a first team All-American last year who owns the Cyclone career sack record with 32½ heading into Saturday's game against West Virginia.
That's third-most in Big 12 history.
Four-year letterman O'Rien Vance is another name familiar to Mountaineer fans. The senior middle linebacker has been in on 44 tackles this year, one fewer than team leader Anthony Johnson (6-0, 207), a senior safety.
Weakside linebacker Gerry Vaughn (5-foot-11, 231 pounds) also shows 44 stops.
Brown said Iowa State's defensive line can go seven or eight deep.
"They have done a great job of recruiting and evaluating defensive linemen to play within their three-down system," he noted. "They play the run extremely well and they can rush the passer when they need to."
Offensively, the Cyclones have one of the most productive wide receivers in the country in Xavier Hutchinson (6-foot-3, 205 pounds), a physical senior who has at least one catch in all 33 games he's played at Iowa State. The Jacksonville, Florida, resident set the school record with 83 receptions last year, and he's closing in on that with 77 catches through the first eight games of this season.
He's had at least eight receptions in all eight games this year and became the first Big 12 receiver in five years to have at least four 10+ catch games in a season. His best game was a 10-catch, 154-yard performance in Iowa State's 24-21 loss to Texas back on Oct. 15.
West Virginia's senior cornerback Charles Woods, still recovering from a season-opening foot injury suffered in the first quarter of the Pitt loss, will likely draw the assignment of trying to slow down Iowa State's best receiver since Allen Lazard.
Sophomore quarterback Hunter Dekkers (6-foot-3, 206 pounds) attempted a career-high 57 pass attempts in last Saturday's loss to Oklahoma, the Hawarden, Iowa, resident connecting on 37 of those for 308 yards and a touchdown.
However, the lefthander threw three interceptions, including one returned to the Cyclone 1 that resulted in Oklahoma's game-sealing touchdown with 4:36 left in the game. Dekkers is completing 67.2% of his pass attempts for 2,151 yards and 14 touchdowns with 10 interceptions.
Tight ends have been a big part of Iowa State's offense in the past, but the three seeing the bulk of the action this season – Easton Dean (6-foot-6, 249 pounds), DeShawn Hanika (6-foot-6, 238 pounds) and Tyler Moore (6-foot-5, 249 pounds) – have combined to catch just 24 passes for 214 yards and two scores so far this season.
Iowa State has relied mostly on Dekkers' arm to compensate for a run game that is producing just 97.2 yards per game and only 3.2 yards per attempt. Jirehl Brock (6-foot, 220 pounds) is Iowa State's top ball carrier with 420 yards and two touchdowns on 91 attempts. He had a 61-yard run in Iowa State's 43-10 win over Ohio.
Despite being at the bottom of the Big 12 standings this year, the Cyclones have continued to draw well at MidAmerican Energy Field at Jack Trice Stadium. Iowa State is averaging 58,525 for its five home dates so far, including 58,716 who came out for last Saturday's Oklahoma loss.
Jack Trice Stadium is considered one of the most difficult road venues in the Big 12, particularly at night.
Saturday's game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on Big 12 Now (Mark Neely, Chad Brown, and Shane Sparks).
West Virginia snapped Iowa State's three-game winning streak in the series last year in Morgantown, 38-31, and owns a 6-4 overall advantage. The Mountaineers are 3-2 in Ames but have not won there since 2016.
"Ames is a tough place to travel to, and it's a tough place to play," Brown admitted.
WVU is coming off a 41-31 loss to seventh-ranked TCU but had the football with an opportunity to take the lead late in the game. A three-and-out series with the Mountaineers trailing just 34-31 gave the ball back to the Horned Frogs, who turned the possession into points when quarterback Max Duggan completed a fourth-down, 29-yard touchdown pass to Savion Williams with just 20 seconds left in the game.
TCU had four explosive plays for touchdowns in the first half against the Mountaineers.
West Virginia is looking for an improved performance on the road in conference games. WVU's last two road games at Texas and Texas Tech resulted in defeats by combined scores of 86-30.
"We've got to be better," Brown said. "We've got to handle the travel. We haven't played well on the road the last two weeks, so we've got to be able to handle that without a doubt."
The Mountaineers do have a road win at Virginia Tech on Thursday, Sept. 22.
Quarterback JT Daniels is completing 63.1% of his pass attempts for 1,961 yards and 14 touchdowns with seven interceptions. Junior Bryce Ford-Wheaton continues to lead WVU with 48 catches for 567 yards and five touchdowns, and he's experienced some success in the past against Iowa State's defense.
Leading rusher C.J. Donaldson suffered a lower leg injury during last Saturday's loss to TCU and is out for the remainder of the season. Second-leading rusher Tony Mathis Jr. did not play against TCU after getting injured against Texas Tech, and Brown is not sure of his availability on Saturday.
Backup running back Justin Johnson Jr. has also been banged up, leaving just one healthy back, freshman Jaylen Anderson.
"It's a challenge. Any time somebody goes down because of injury it's a challenge for the staff and it's a challenge for the position room, but it's a next-man-up philosophy," Brown pointed out. "The next guy has got to be ready to go and our expectation is our production will not go down."
Others Brown ruled out for Saturday action include starting left guard James Gmiter and starting weakside linebacker Lance Dixon. The fourth-year coach does expect to get starting right guard Doug Nester back for this Saturday's game and some others who have been banged up could be added to the 70-man travel roster later this week.
"I think the team that scores touchdowns in the red zone wins the game," Brown concluded.
Mountaineer Sports Network coverage begins with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show at 12:30 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular apps WVU Gameday and the Varsity Network.
Regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning will get underway at 2:30 p.m.
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