Coming off a dominating win over Oklahoma State, West Virginia looks to flip the page quickly and have their focus on their upcoming matchup with No. 11 Iowa State.
The Cyclones are 5-0 after defeating Baylor last week. WVU head coach Neal Brown spoke about the challenges Iowa State poses and their quarterback, Rocco Becht.
“Ton of respect for Iowa State what coach (Matt) Campbell has built there,” Brown said.
Brown went on to highlight how Iowa State excels in each phase.
“Special teams-wise, they blocked two punts, which obviously catches your attention. And then 13 (Jaylin Noel) who’s one of their leading receivers also, he’s an excellent returner,” Brown said. “The kicker (Kyle Konrardy) made a game-winning field goal. Their punter (Tyler Perkins) [has] a nice average. They’re doing a nice job with their specialists.”
When Brown discussed Iowa State’s offense’s strengths, he couldn’t leave out Becht, the son of WVU Sports Hall of Fame inductee Anthony Becht.
“Offensively, they’re balanced, very multiple. They’ve ran the ball extremely well the last three weeks. They shift, they motion, a lot of different tight ends play. I think it starts with them with Rocco (Becht); he’s playing at a high level. And I pull for him every game. This will be the first time I don’t pull for him when he rolls in here. But great kid and we’ll also be honoring his dad who’s a (WVU Sports) Hall of Famer, he’s obviously watching his son play.”
This season, Becht has thrown for 1,173 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions. On the ground, he’s rushed for 55 yards and two touchdowns.
“Rocco’s playing at a high level. He’s keeping plays alive very efficient with the football. And in running that offense at a really efficient level right now,” Brown said. “They’ve got two receivers that are playing really well (Jayden) Higgins and Noel. They move them around they do a nice job of getting them the ball in a bunch of different ways.”
Brown also highly regards Iowa State’s defense. He explained that the stats do the talking but also pointed out key aspects of their scheme.
“Defensively, Coach (Jon) Heacock (Iowa State’s defensive coordinator), he’s done a great job there. I mean they’ve got a system that’s in place they’ve been doing now for a number of years. He’s got answers, does a really good job countering within a game,” Brown said. “Statistically you can look at it, it speaks for themselves. I don’t need to get up here and talk a whole bunch, you just look at the stat sheet and it tells you what you need to know about them defensively. They mix up coverages. I think their defensive line, they’ve done a nice job recruiting big bodies, that are long, that kind of makes the defense go because they eat up gaps.”
Iowa State will travel to Morgantown this weekend to face the Mountaineers in their “Coal Rush” game. Kickoff will be at 8 p.m. EST and the game will be televised on FOX.
