WVU can’t contain Iowa State offense in 45-42 loss
AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia faced third and 11 down three points with under one minute to play. Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. dropped back and avoided a tackle as the pocket collapsed. He escaped and connected with D.J. Epps for the first down. Epps broke a tackle, looking for more yards, and fumbled the ball, with Iowa State recovering.
The Cyclones ran out the clock from there to seal a 45-42 Big 12 football win over the Mountaineers, handing WVU its second loss of the season and second in a row in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday.
West Virginia fell to 3-2 on the year and is still searching for a Big 12 win. The Cyclones moved to 3-2 and picked up their first Power Four victory.
“We were too undisciplined,” WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez said. “Not coached well enough to give us a chance.”
Iowa State punched in a touchdown on the previous drive, and WVU then needed to at least get in field goal range. The Mountaineers were on the other side of midfield, and with the yardage picked up by Epps, would’ve likely been close enough to attempt a tying kick.
He fumbled, and the Cyclones picked up the first and ended the game.
“D.J. was just trying to make a play,” Rodriguez said. “He’s just got to be careful.”
Hawkins and the offense were tested against one of the top defenses so far this season, and played right with Iowa State in a shootout. WVU had 518 yards of total offense for the second time this season.
Hawkins went 11-for-23 passing for 227 yards and two touchdowns. He had another 149 yards of rushing and two more scores.
The WVU defense, on the other hand, once again couldn’t create stops when needed. The Mountaineers needed to halt Iowa State with under two minutes to play and instead allowed a 74-yard touchdown drive capped by Aiden Flora’s 2-yard run. Flora had burst for a 63-yard touchdown run the drive before.
Flora gashed the WVU defense in every way possible. He had 212 yards rushing and three touchdowns on the ground. He also had two passing touchdowns on trick plays that fooled the Mountaineers’ defense.
After allowing 600 yards of offense to Oklahoma State the week before, WVU’s defense didn’t fare much better and gave up 577 yards to Iowa State. The Cyclones came in with just one 500-yard game under their belt which came against Bowling Green.
“You gotta stop somebody to win the game,” Rodriguez said. “We had a couple of opportunities to do that, and we couldn’t.”
The defense did contain quarterback Jaylen Raynor, which was a point of emphasis on the week, as he only rushed for 48 yards. WVU linebacker Isaiah Patterson picked off Raynor when Iowa State was driving. Raynor completed 19 of 27 passes for 264 yards and one touchdown. Wide receiver Cody Jackson was Raynor’s top target. He had six catches for 160 yards and a score.
The Mountaineers also didn’t have the cleanest game penalties-wise. WVU had 10 flags for 86 yards. It was the most this season.
“Penalties were atrocious,” Rodriguez said. “Some of them were warranted, and some of them are kind of close. Pass interference penalties on long-yardage situations. We had a couple of illegal procedures. It was the first time with some opposing noise, but we got to be better than that.”
WVU is in a similar situation as it was last year in Rodriguez’s first season back in Morgantown. The Mountaineers had the high of winning against Pitt, then lost five straight games in the Big 12. WVU knocked off a ranked team in Virginia but has since lost two straight.
The Mountaineers stare down Arizona at home in a week, which will be a tough out, with talented quarterback Noah Fifita. WVU needs to go back to the drawing board, especially on defense, to get the season back on track.
“I thought we were fixing some of the issues, and we just didn’t,” Rodriguez said. “We got to do a better job.”