MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — We’re about to learn a lot about the West Virginia Mountaineers today. West Virginia enters today’s road game against Iowa State at 3-1, and if you had offered most WVU fans that record before the season started, they probably would have taken it. But after what happened last weekend against Oklahoma State, this feels like a much different football team than it did just a week ago. That’s why today matters so much.
This isn’t necessarily a must-win game in the traditional sense. It’s early October and there is a lot of football left to play. But I do think this is a game that is going to tell us exactly what kind of team Rich Rodriguez has in year two of his return to Morgantown. Was last week’s loss to Oklahoma State simply a bad day, or did it expose some serious problems that are going to follow West Virginia for the rest of the season? We’re about to find out.
The biggest concern is obvious. West Virginia gave up 609 yards against Oklahoma State. The defense missed tackles, gave up too many explosive plays and never really found an answer. After the way Zac Alley’s defense had played earlier in the season, particularly against Virginia, it was shocking to see things unravel that badly. But one bad performance doesn’t necessarily define a football team. What happens next might.
Good teams respond. Good coaching staffs make adjustments, and good players don’t allow one disappointing Saturday to turn into two, then three, and suddenly an entire season is slipping away. That’s what makes today’s game in Ames so fascinating. West Virginia doesn’t need to be perfect. They don’t need to go into Iowa State and win by three touchdowns. They just need to show that what happened last week isn’t who they are.
And I actually think the Mountaineers have a real chance to do that. West Virginia has one of the most dangerous rushing attacks in college football. Michael Hawkins Jr. gives Rich Rodriguez an explosive weapon at quarterback, and Cam Cook has helped give the Mountaineers another legitimate threat on the ground. When this offense is running the football effectively, it puts tremendous pressure on a defense because Hawkins can beat you in so many different ways.
Iowa State is going to challenge that. Rich Rodriguez has already said this is the best defense West Virginia has faced this season, and playing in Ames is never easy. Iowa State is well coached, physical and isn’t going to hand the Mountaineers anything. That’s exactly why this is such an important test.
If West Virginia can go on the road, respond to its first loss of the season and beat Iowa State, the entire conversation changes almost immediately. Instead of talking about the 609 yards allowed against Oklahoma State, we’re talking about a 4-1 football team. We’re talking about a team that showed some toughness. We’re talking about a team that got punched in the mouth and responded. And with two home games coming up after today, suddenly there is a lot of excitement surrounding the possibilities for the rest of this season.
But the opposite is also true. Lose today and West Virginia falls to 3-2. One disappointing performance becomes two consecutive losses, and some of the questions that emerged last Saturday become much more difficult to dismiss. That’s why I’m not sure we’ve had a better measuring-stick game during Rich Rodriguez’s second season back at West Virginia.
Today isn’t just about the record. It’s about the response. It’s about finding out whether the first three games were a legitimate indication of where this program is headed or whether Oklahoma State exposed weaknesses that are going to become a major problem in Big 12 play. It’s about seeing whether this team has the toughness and maturity to respond when things don’t go its way, and it’s about finding out just how quickly Rich Rodriguez can get this program back to competing consistently in the Big 12.
By this afternoon, we should know a lot more. West Virginia doesn’t have to prove that it’s a finished product today. It clearly isn’t. But the Mountaineers do need to show us something. Show us that last week was an aberration. Show us that this defense is better than what we saw against Oklahoma State. Show us that this offense can travel. Show us that this team can handle adversity. And most importantly, show us that this season has a chance to become something special.
Today we find out who West Virginia really is.
