The Mountaineers’ sixth opponents are the Iowa State Cyclones in West Virginia’s second ranked matchup of the year.
Just like in WVU’s Week 1 game against Penn State, now ranked No. 4 in the nation, the Mountaineers’ will host both Iowa State and FOX, who will nationally televise the game at 8 p.m. ET.
Iowa State is at the top of a messy Big 12, ahead of BYU at No. 11 in the AP Top 25 and with a 5-0 record. The Cyclones come to Morgantown for their toughest matchup of conference play after shutting out Houston 20-0 and defeating Baylor 43-21 at home in Week 6.
With its only major victory against Iowa, Iowa State’s support has grown primarily due to others’ shortcomings. The Cyclones are in the middle or bottom half of most team stats in the Big 12, with the exceptions being due to their success in the secondary.
Iowa State has allowed by far the least passing yards in the conference and have grabbed the most interceptions, with eight. Receiver Jaylin Noel has also led the the Cyclones to the second most yards off punt returns this season, with 75 of the team’s 113.
Outside of leading in these areas, nothing stands out statistically about Iowa State. On the field, though, West Virginia will have to deal with one of the top quarterbacks in the conference, even if the numbers showing that do not pop off the page.
Redshirt sophomore Rocco Becht, the Big 12’s reigning Offensive Freshman of the Year, is the third most efficient statistically in the conference. Becht has the conference’s third most yards per completion on the fourth highest completion rate.
Taking Becht’s targets are Noel, who has a team-best 451 receiving yards this season, followed closely by fellow senior Jayden Higgins, who has 403 yards and a team-best five touchdowns. Both receivers earned All-Big 12 honors last season, with Noel making the second team and Higgins being named an honorable mention.
Outside of those two targets, though, Becht is limited, with his third option, 6-foot-7, 250-pound tight end Benjamin Brahmer, catching for just 145 yards in comparison. No other Iowa State player has over 50 receiving yards this year.
Becht’s minimal options do not make the offense any less versatile, though. Becht is defended by Iowa State’s best offensive line in nearly a decade and has three viable weapons in the backfield to turn to if necessary.
Senior Jaylon Jackson and sophomores Abu Sama III and Carson Hansen all have over 200 rushing yards this year, with Jackson marking 305. Becht is not much of a rushing threat himself but has run in for two touchdowns this season in 70 yards.
With two powerful offenses, WVU and Iowa State will likely have their toughest conference games yet on Saturday. The game will kick off at 8 p.m. at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Photo from Iowa State Football
