Campbell is excited to see how the Cyclones' stingy defense holds up against WVU's offense

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Stability has been a key factor in No. 11 Iowa State's defensive success.

The Cyclones, led by ninth-year head coach Matt Campbell, have had the same defensive coordinator in Jon Heacock during Campbell's tenure, and their 3-3-5 lineup has worked wonders in the first half of the 2024 regular season.

Heading into Saturday's game at West Virginia, televised by FOX at 8 p.m., Iowa State is allowing all 16 Big 12 Conference teams to lead by an average of 10 points.

The Cyclones (5-0, 2-0) already have a shutout against Houston while holding North Dakota and Arkansas State to 3 and 7 points, respectively. Last week's 43-21 win at Baylor marked Iowa State's highest point total of the season and included a shutout in the final 27-plus minutes and 7 points allowed in the final 42-plus minutes.

“The reality is that we try to honor every little victory, but we understand that the reality of a football season makes it very unique that you really are judged by who you are at the end of the year and who you become on that journey ,” Campbell said. “Every season is a journey and we totally understand that. That's the beauty of being in one place while we're here.

“We’ve had moments of success and how do you deal with them and sustain them? We have always been very process-oriented here and not results-oriented. The reality is that we have great leadership that has always enabled this process to be on point. Whatever we did, positive or negative, win or loss, we make it clear quickly on Sunday and try to be humble enough as coaches and players to grow from it and prepare for next week.”

This week that means a matchup with the Mountaineers (3-2, 2-0) for the right to remain undefeated in league play.

The 2023 season was Campbell's first at Iowa State without the Cyclones facing West Virginia. He has a 4-3 record against the Mountaineers, including 3-1 against WVU head coach Neal Brown.

Campbell has already won once in Morgantown in three tries – during Brown's first season in 2019. The Cyclones weren't so lucky in their last trip to West Virginia, when they suffered a 38-31 loss in the national rankings .

“We have already been in two difficult road situations. There’s value in that,” Campbell said. “West Virginia will provide even more excitement. They have a phenomenal team and one of the largest fan bases in the country in terms of the pride they have in their Mountaineers. They have a lot to be happy about. It will be a great football environment. That's why you play college football – to play in games like this, moments like this and on a stage like this. It’s great to have a bit of equity in it but we have to do our best on Saturday night to compete and try to win away from home.”

Iowa State is allowing an average of fewer than 134 passing yards to lead the Big 12, while its eight interceptions and 271.6 yards given up per game are both league highs.

Perhaps what concerns Brown most is the Cyclones' ability to adjust mid-game.

“When you're in a system that you've been in for a long time, you're constantly making tweaks, but you can find answers,” Brown said. “That’s something I tell our young coaches a lot. They'll have a great game, but what if they do? You have to have an answer and a counter. (Heacock) has great answers. Statistically, they are much better in the second half than they were in the first, and that shows me that, thanks to coaching, they are able to fix things that the offenses may have taken advantage of.

“The other thing too is, as offenses have become more diverse and there's more pre-snap movement, there's not a lot of movement in the box when you play on that front. There is not as much movement in this group as in some others. He stays calm. I don’t know, but I assume he has some good people helping him on game day and in game preparation because they have answers.”

If there's one area where the Cyclones are vulnerable, it's in their ability to stop the rush. ISU sits in the middle of the pack in the Big 12, allowing an average of 138 rushing yards and 4.2 yards per carry.

West Virginia's offense prides itself on getting to the line of scrimmage to establish a strong ground game, and the Mountaineers rushed for 389 yards in last Saturday's 24-point win over Oklahoma State .

Quarterback Garrett Greene and tailbacks CJ Donaldson and Jahiem White combined to rush for 321 yards and four scores against the Cowboys, and that trio leads the Big 12's third-leading rushing attack. So far, Donaldson leads the group with 361 yards and five touchdowns. White isn't far behind in either category with 352 yards and four touchdowns, while Greene added 295 yards and three rushing scores.

“They are a real problem for everyone and everyone they played against really challenged them in terms of what they could do,” Campbell said. “Anytime you play a great rush attack, first and foremost, all eleven players in defense have to do their job. Anytime the quarterback has the ability to run, he can throw your defensive rules into conflict very quickly, and he does a great job of challenging that.”