Sunday Morning Thoughts: WVU’s Defensive Disaster Goes Much Deeper Than Zac Alley

What a couple of weeks it's been for the West Virginia defense.

In their two conference games against Iowa State and Oklahoma State, the Mountaineers have allowed 1,186 total yards of offense (701 passing, 485 rushing), 19 explosive plays in the pass game (gains of 15+), and 14 explosives on the ground (gains of 10+ yards).

This is the kind of production I get with my offense in the College Football 27 video game. Unfortunately, this defense looks like it's playing on Heisman mode with all of the sliders tilted toward the opponent; they can't do anything right.

Zac Alley is going to be the first person everyone blames, which is very understandable. It's his responsibility to put the right people on the field and get the defense in the right position to make stops.

Here's part of the problem: there's a major lack of execution. You can be in the right call, but it doesn't matter if you can't make the play. And that, too, comes down to coaching. Guys constantly misfitting the run, taking atrocious angles to the ball, not communicating- it's all part of the problem.

But as I've stated before, one of the big reasons this defense is so bad is that by the time they started addressing needs on that side of the ball, the wallet was pretty dry. I mean, just look around. Go back and take a peek at the type of production those transfers had at the Group of Six level. Aside from Harper Holloman and Zeke Durham-Campbell, it didn't necessarily scream "Power Four talent."

So, who does that fall on? The head ball coach.

Oct 3, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez watches his team play the Iowa State Cyclones during the second half at Jack Trice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Trust me, I can understand wanting to go over the top to fix the offense after how much of an eyesore that group was a year ago, but you still have a defense to put together.

Thinking that JUCOs, average Group of Six players with traits, and guys who returned who weren't playing good football a year ago, and asking them to take on a larger role was never going to get the job done.

The defense needed production. A guy making the jump up from Group of Six, FCS, D-II, etc., needs more than just snaps under his belt.

This defense is just flat-out bad. There's no other way to put it. Alley and his staff have to do a better job of preparing these guys and coaching them up, but they also just don't have the horses. Both things can be true.

The finger can be pointed in Alley's direction all day, but the blame should be placed at the feet of Rich Rodriguez. He put this team together; he hired the staff, and neither is performing well.

Teams with new staff all over the country are getting much better results than this. I mean, they are literally DEAD LAST in the Power Four in total defense (491.3 yards per game), which ranks 133rd nationally. Only Southern Miss, Colorado State, Ball State, Missouri State, and UL Monroe are worse — what a group of schools to be mentioned with...YIKES!

Speaking of new staffs, Rich Rod has not fared too well against first-year head coaches since his return to Morgantown. He is 1-4 against them, and if the season opener had gone on for a few more minutes, there's a very good chance he could be 0-5.

at Ohio: L 10-17 (Brian Smith)
at UCF: L 13-45 (Scott Frost)
vs. Coastal Carolina: W 31-24 (Ryan Beard)
vs. Oklahoma State: L 24-41 (Eric Morris)
at Iowa State: L 42-45 (Jimmy Rogers)

With all due respect, these aren't necessarily world beaters.

Let me shout this from the mountaintop, "THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE MORE FAVORABLE PART OF THE SCHEDULE."

It was reasonable to think a 5-1 or 6-0 start was possible. And now, you are another defensive breakdown away from being 3-3 midway through the season, with the toughest part of the schedule still to come.

Facing two first-year coaches — one of which was at home in primetime in front of a near sold-out crowd, and the other was against what everyone perceived to be the weakest team in the Big 12 — and you lost them both.

The offense can't outscore everyone

The most frustrating thing for the fans has to be that they see how good this offense is, led by the dynamic duo of Mike Hawkins Jr. and Cam Cook, and it's being wasted because of a horrendous defense.

If you remember, I said all the way back in June that this team can be really good if the defense is just average as far as Big 12 teams go. They didn't need to be in the top third of the league for this team to win games. They just needed to be somewhere in the middle of the pack, and guess what? You are not even in the ballpark of it.

Meanwhile, teams with FAR LESS resources are producing better results, and one of them just beat you yesterday.

For those who were excited about Rich Rod's return, well, the honeymoon phase (Pt. 2) is nearing its end. No, Rodriguez is not in the hot seat, nor should he be, but the results have to start coming, or the seat will inevitably become warm down the road.

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