The West Virginia Mountaineers probably thought that they would be 4-0 heading into this weekend until they ran into Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State handed the Mountaineers their first loss of the season in Morgantown last week, 41-24. West Virginia will now try to bounce back with a victory this weekend against the 2-2 Iowa State Cyclones. Iowa State will also be looking to bounce back from a 31-17 loss to the #15 Utah Utes. Iowa State will have their hometown crowd behind them in this matchup, but nothing silences a home crowd like a good running game.
West Virginia will look to lean on Cam Cook and the fourth-ranked rushing attack this Saturday. The Mountaineers are averaging 294.8 rushing yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry this season. Cook leads the team in rushing with 510 yards, but it is the Mountaineers quarterback, Michael Hawkins Jr. who leads the team in rushing touchdowns with nine. Hawkins Jr. is not afraid to beat defenses with his legs. In only four games, Hawkins has already ran the ball 72 times for 425 yards. That comes out to 18 rushes per game. And if anyone is keeping track, Hawkins only has 60 passing attempts in that span.
We saw Iowa State struggle heavily against the run last week against Utah. Utah came in as the road team and rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns on 33 attempts. Iowa State allowed Utah to average 6.2 yards per carry on their way to the loss. The Cyclones have been below average this season against the run, ranking 74th in success rate. If West Virginia can establish the run against the reeling Cyclones defense, they should be able to control tempo and find a way to bounce back with a win in Ames.
West Virginia vs Iowa State prediction: West Virginia Mountaineers +3.5 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable to pk.
