College GameDay offers an in-depth preview of the WVU-Iowa State matchup

The selection is still pending, but the ESPN College GameDay team has already named tonight's game between West Virginia and Iowa State as one of the best games in college football this weekend.

During the first hour of the Eugene show this morning, the judges gave an in-depth look at the matchup. Here's what each member of the show had to say.

“It was supposed to be 4-1, but we obviously gave that away to Pitt, and it seems like we've been talking about it on this particular broadcast forever. But Coach (Matt Campbell) becomes the all-time winningest coach in Iowa State history. He is a dog. His speech to the team there was incredibly motivating.

“But you mentioned it, they have a little weakness on defense so far and this is a matchup game. West Virginia can run the ball. Last week against Oklahoma State, they totaled 389 yards on the ground. You.” You've got (Jahiem) White, you've got (CJ) Donaldson, you've got GG (Garrett Greene) going wild.

“And you talked about Anthony Becht, Rocco Becht’s father, who is an absolute dog, Anthony is too. West Virginia legend. He later played in the NFL and is now the coach of the (St. Louis) BattleHawks of the UFL.

“But today it’s about the miners, it’s a Coal Rush game. This is an all-black Coal Rush game in honor of the miners. This is a blue-collar game for West Virginia. I would say a must for everyone.” Neal Brown. And if we get past Iowa State today… haha, that's where we need to be at that point mentally because there's a big challenge and a big opportunity on the line.”

“You know what happens at this time of the season, you see teams creating an identity. This Iowa State team, I'm from West Virginia and root for the Mountaineers, but this Iowa State team was a very disciplined team, they play complementary football, they play good defense.

“The 3-3 stack is a little weak against the run, but it's a good defense and they had to make some negative plays to stop West Virginia's run. But this is a team that I think people will start to recognize because they play the type of football that makes winning football and hopefully that will continue.”

“What I like about Iowa State is that you can run the ball on defense, but they are number one in the conference in scoring, passing and overall defense.

“I like their offense. Their personnel setup is that they typically play with 12 players, which they do 47% of the time, and 13 players, which means they often play tight ends on the field. When a team normally does that, they are usually very good at defense. I think this is a great matchup to see if they can stop the run, but will they (WVU) be able to stop Rocco Becht and this offense?”

“I think it's an attacking style that performs well in a really difficult environment. The atmosphere tonight that you describe, you know what it's like every week in West Virginia. Now you bring out the miners' jerseys, which are all black, I mean they're being teased.

“But I think Rocco Becht, his attitude and his willingness to make decisions will be the key. What they've done over the last three weeks is run the football 247 (yards per game). Talk about how West Virginia did it.”, Iowa State also ran the football. I think Iowa State does well in this environment.

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