After suffering a very close loss to Oklahoma the Mountaineers have now lost five straight games, which puts them at .500. Now they are on the road this week against Iowa State, and they will try to avoid their sixth straight loss. If they do in fact lose this next game then it will be the first time the Mountaineers have had a losing record since 2001, when they went 3-8 for the season.
Once again Geno Smith shined last week throwing for 320 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Smith struggled to get anything going in the first half, but turned it on in the
second half. Both of his interceptions came in the first half, and he also only threw one touchdown. After halftime he lit up the scoreboard, throwing three more touchdowns and looking like a brand new quarterback. Smith might have an easier time dealing with the Cyclones’ defense since they are giving up about 284 yards to quarterbacks per game. This matchup bodes well for Smith since he has a tendency to put up more yards than the opposing defense allows.
One good thing to take away from the Oklahoma game was that the Mountaineers seemed to have finally established a running game. The only thing is the player with the most rushing yards technically isn’t a running back at all. Wide receiver Tavon Austin was unstoppable out of the backfield, racking up 344 yards and scoring twice. Austin did what none of the other running backs could do this season, which is run the ball effectively and keep the defense off balance. That’s not to say the true running backs didn’t contribute, Andrew Buie ran for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Still that was nowhere close to what Austin did. Now teams will start taking notice of him and it is unlikely he will have another big game like he did last week, but he has proved critics wrong before. West Virginia needs to use the real running backs more than they do since they can put up these numbers too. Buie would be the most likely to put up big numbers since he is the fastest and he has the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. If the Mountaineers can get him and the other running backs going, then their offense can get back to being dominant like it was before this losing streak. So far this season, Iowa State has given up about 158 yards to opposing running backs, and if the Mountaineers decide to use Austin like they did last week then expect another big game from him.
The wide receivers were dominant as usual, especially Stedman Bailey. Bailey had 13 catches for 205 yards and four touchdowns. Bailey continues to be Smith’s favorite target since all of Smith’s touchdown passes went to him. Expect to see another big day from Bailey as he and Smith continue to hook up on the deep ball. Austin had a slower game on the receiving end, catching four passes for 82 yards. What is also interesting is the emergence of new receivers that have gotten very little playing time.
Against Oklahoma State, sophomore Connor Arlia made a few big plays, and last week freshman running back Cody Clay made a big play in the receiving game. If Clay can keep this up, expect him to be used more as a receiver or even tight end and less of a running back. It’s always good to give young guys a chance to prove themselves since the Mountaineers will be having a new quarterback next year and during a losing streak it doesn’t hurt to try new options in certain positions. In this game, look for more playing time from these younger guys, especially if the Mountaineers take a huge lead.
Once again the Mountaineer defense failed to show up in probably one of the most important games of the season. While the defensive line and linebackers only allowed 108 yards on the ground and a touchdown, it was the secondary who pretty much gave the game to the Sooners. Even though cornerback Brodrick Jenkins came away with an interception, they still gave up 554 yards and six touchdowns. This is unacceptable for any team and things have got to change if they want to help the offense out.
The defense couldn't cover wide receiver Kenny Stills at all, and he put up 91 yards and four touchdowns on them. They have to play tighter coverage on the receivers since on a few plays they were wide open in the center of the field and quarterback Landry Jones was able to hit them every single time. Iowa State quarterback Steele Jantz has 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on the season, so while his isn’t putting up the numbers that past quarterbacks have, this doesn’t mean they should slack off when it comes to applying pressure to him. If they can get in his face and not only sack him a few times, but intercept him as well, then the Mountaineers should come away with a win.
The one player the Mountaineer secondary has to shutdown is wide receiver Josh Lenz. Lenz has 382 yards receiving and five touchdowns on the season; while he may not seem all that threatening just remember that West Virginia’s secondary can make any one look good. If they can limit him to less than 100 yards receiving and give up only one touchdown to him then that would be a victory for the secondary since they have had major problems stopping opposing teams’ top receivers in the past.
West Virginia's special teams played pretty well. Tavon Austin seemed back to his normal self, returning eight kicks for 146 yards. Austin has been doing an excellent job when it comes to returning kick and punts. Expect him to have at least one kick or punt returned for a touchdown. Kicker/punter Tyler Bitancurt did an ok job, he only had to kick one field and he went four for five on field goals. Him missing that one field goal was devastating since that would have tied the game. Another reason why the Mountaineers more than likely lost was the fact they went for the two point conversion twice and failed both times. If they had allowed Bitancurt to kick the extra point then they could have very well upset Oklahoma.
The Mountaineers should have a much easier time against the Cyclones since they too have struggled this year. West Virginia needs to take advantage of all of Iowa State’s weaknesses. If they can do this then it could be a blowout, and it could also mean that the Mountaineers are back to the team they were before this losing streak. Kickoff for this game is set for 3:30 and can be seen on ABC.
Prediction: WVU-60 Iowa State-35
Player of the Game: Tavon Austin 7 receptions 90 yards 2 TDs 18 carries 200 yards 3 TDs
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