Iowa State football set for homecoming clash with West Virginia

AMES – It’s only been four years, but plenty has changed since West Virginia made its way to Jack Trice Stadium for a football game in 2022. Both teams have new coaches at the helm and the Big 12 now has 16 schools after plenty of conference reshuffling.

That year, the Cyclones pulled away for a 31-14 win. It was also the last time Iowa State won a homecoming game. Iowa State (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) will be hopeful for a similar winning result to break the drought when it hosts the Mountaineers (3-1, 0-1) on Saturday, Oct. 3. Action is set to kick off at 11 a.m. CT (TNT).

Iowa State coach Jimmy Rogers, a native of Chandler, Arizona, once attended camps organized by West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez when the latter was the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats from 2012-17. Rogers was a young coach in those days, but he has since climbed the ranks and made his way to a power-conference head coaching position. Now they are set to clash years later as both teams are vying for their first Big 12 victory of the season.

“The transition that he’s had already at West Virginia and what he’s done there has been awesome, but I knew him back when I was going to camps down when he was the head coach at the University of Arizona,” Rogers said of Rodriguez. “My impressions of him is that he’s black and white and he says it how it is, I kind of love people like that. Watching their team play, the physicality, the effort and how those guys operate, you can see there’s a demand of excellence and so we’re going to have our hands full here. There’s an appreciation for their staff but also their team in general.”

Last season was Rodriguez’s first in his return to West Virginia, where he previously had a successful run as the Mountaineers’ head coach from 2001-07. West Virginia went 4-8 in 2025 but is on pace for a much improved 2026 campaign.

The Mountaineers attained their first 3-0 start since 2018 after defeating then-No. 25 Virginia, 38-27. They faced a setback in a 41-24 loss to Oklahoma State on Sept. 26, their first loss of the year.

West Virginia is highlighted by the backfield tandem of quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. and running back Cam Cook. Both transfers have revitalized the Mountaineer offense since arriving.

Cook leads the Big 12 with 510 rushing yards and has three rushing touchdowns. He gets the ball often and averages close to 25 carries per game. Hawkins is another impactful dual-threat quarterback. He’s not too far behind Cook with 425 rushing yards and a conference-best nine touchdowns. As a passer, he’s completed 60% of his throws for 609 yards, five touchdowns and an interception.

D.J. Epps (10 receptions, 279 yards, three touchdowns) and Jaden Bray (eight receptions, 118 yards) are the Mountaineers’ top passing targets.

West Virginia operates a high-tempo offense, one that leads the Big 12 with 294.8 rushing yards per game.

“They run the ball hard, their O-Line, they come off the ball hard, they want to run it down your throat,” defensive tackle Max Baloun said. “They do a really good job of it. … We’re excited for the opportunity, excited for the challenge. It’s going to be a good matchup. We want to stop the run, they want to run it. That’s two giants going at each other.”

Defensively, the Mountaineers are desperate for improvement. Last year, they were among the worst teams on defense among all power-conference schools. This year, West Virginia ranks at the bottom of the Big 12 for points allowed (24.8 points per game) and total yards allowed (426.5 yards per game).

Oklahoma State certainly didn’t help those averages, as the Cowboys racked up 609 total yards. 389 of them came through the air and 220 yards (5.4 yards per carry) on the ground.

Iowa State’s offense has struggled with consistency, but perhaps this is the Big 12 opponent that will help provide building blocks and confidence on that side of the ball moving forward. There have been flashes of that offense’s potential when it is able to get into a groove, but it will aim to have more sustained drives on Saturday.

Linebackers Isaiah Patterson and Ashton Woods are active in chasing down the ball carrier and among the top stoppers on a struggling Mountaineer defense. Safety Geimere Latimer II might be the biggest game-changer, though. The West Virginia sophomore leads the team in snaps, has 20 tackles, a sack and three forced fumbles.

“We’re going to get a lot,” offensive lineman Austin Barrett said of the Mountaineer defense. “They’re very versatile. I respect the heck out of them. They’re a good defense. They throw a lot at you and this week it comes down to our preparation, how we prepare for the fronts and their blitzes and where they’re bringing pressure and whatnot.”

It will be the Mountaineers’ first true road game of the season. Rogers and the Cyclones are hopeful for another environment like last week’s second-half showing as Iowa State tries to stay above .500 and capture its first Big 12 win of the season and the Rogers era.

“Our players fed off that energy for, really, probably 18-minute stretch where we were starting to get in rhythm,” said Rogers, who thanked the fans who stayed after an ugly first half for the Cyclones against Utah. “That’s pivotal. Although you might want to rip your hair out with this football team sometimes, we can be bald together, but you’ve still got to show up and stick with us and work through the hard times. Because I can promise you, it will only get better and better the more we learn and grow as a football team.”

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football set for homecoming clash with West Virginia