West Virginia Mountaineers coordinator Zac Alley labeled his unit “the worst defense in the country” while speaking with reporters on Wednesday.
Struggling to begin the season, West Virginia, last among Big 12 defenses with 456.6 yards allowed per game through Week 5, has a big test with Noah Fifita and Arizona in town on Saturday. Alley had a unique way of motivating his guys following consecutive losses allowing 40-plus points.
Asked about his assorted packages and alignments, Alley, now one week removed from a 45-42 loss at Iowa State, kept his message simple when it comes to ironing out the defense’s deficiencies ahead of an Arizona matchup that’ll certainly test his group’s limits again this week.
“I think we’re the worst defense in college football,” Alley said. “It’s pretty simple to say that it ain’t worked, so I don’t plan to – you know, keep doing the same thing over and over again seems like insanity… We’ll cut it down and make sure they can execute.”
Trying to do too much can be a pitfall for any college football team, but it’s gotten ahold of West Virginia through a 3-2 start. Rich Rodriguez noted earlier this week that his staff is planning to simplify and straighten out the defensive game plan to account for more in the weeks ahead.
The Mountaineers are last in the Big 12 in pass and run defense, which saw the Cyclones fly around the field last week with Jaylen Raynor throwing for 312 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, and Aiden Flora (212 yards, 3 touchdowns), leading a backfield that managed 265 total rushing yards.
Conversely, the offense has been a highlight of this Mountaineer team. Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. is only a 56% passer, but is rushing for 100-plus yards per game in addition to 7 touchdown passes to just 1 interception thrown in his first season at West Virginia. Cam Cook, too, is a weekly scouting report target with 652 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground through his first five games.
The Danny Gonzales Arizona defense allows just 79 rushing yards through Week 5, and they’ll be put to the test this week against West Virginia’s dynamic run game. Whether the Wildcats can meet West Virginia on the ground is arguably the biggest question entering this matchup on Saturday.
Back home this week, West Virginia is only a 3-point underdog against the Wildcats, with an over/under of 61.5 points. Unless the Mountaineers can carve out a place for themselves in the run game, it’s hard to see a world where they can keep up with Fifita and Arizona this week.
