Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Dynamic defenses will face off
Keys for West Virginia
Stay the course: Iowa State erased second-half deficits in recent wins over Baylor and Texas. West Virginia needs to learn from mistakes made by both of those schools. If the Mountaineers do manage an early lead on the road, they can’t let off the gas. Whatever works early needs to be used late. For example, Texas running back Bijan Robinson had 10 carries for 60 yards in the first quarter against the Cyclones. He touched the ball six times after.
Stop Breece Hall: Texas wasn’t able to beat Iowa State, but the Longhorns defense kept the game close by limiting Hall, Iowa State’s star running back. He had rushed for over 100 yards in the previous eight games. The key to limiting Iowa State’s offense is foring quarterback Brock Purdy into passing situations on third down.
Keys for Iowa State
Find Xavier Hutchinson: The Iowa State offense lacks big-play capability if Hutchinson isn’t involved in the offense. Hall and tight end Charlie Kolar are great at delivering body blows, but it is Hutchinson that can deliver the onepunch knockout from his wide receiver position. He only caught one pass for five yards against Texas. Purdy must force the ball to Hutchinson early to establish a vertical threat, which should open up more room for Hall.
Force passing situations: The winner of this game is probably the defense that does a better job of stopping the run on first and second down. Both offenses aren’t afraid to pass, but they prefer to do it from balanced situations. That means on downs and distances that aren’t automatically passing situations. Iowa State wins this game if they put West Virginia in more obvious passing downs than the Mountaineers can force on the other side of the football.