MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia’s defense allowed its lowest point total against a FBS opponent the last time out in a 24-20 victory at TCU.
While there was noticeable improvement from a unit that’s struggled throughout 2026, the Mountaineers were also held to their lowest point total this season as that figure equaled the mark in a loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Conference opener.
That was hardly a surprise considering the level of play from the Horned Frogs’ defense this season, but things don’t get any easier for the Mountaineers this weekend with Saturday’s 9:30 p.m. (ET) matchup at 13th-ranked Texas Tech.
The Red Raiders (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) are seventh in the conference in scoring defense and 42nd nationally allowing an average of 21.1 points. They excel at stopping the run and rank first in the Big 12 allowing an average of 94.9 rushing yards and second surrendering 3.1 yards per attempt.
Only 12 FBS teams allow fewer rushing yardage on average than the defending Big 12 champion.
“They have some really good players and I think there’s a system in place that they’ve had for a couple years now that their guys understand,” WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez said. “You can see them make adjustments through the game and it’s something they adapt to pretty quickly. I have a lot of respect for them. We’ll have to play better, but we have some guys that can make plays and our guys are going to be excited for the challenge.”
Texas Tech defensive coordinator Shiel Wood is highly respected and was a finalist for the Broyles Award last season after guiding a unit that produced four of the first 70 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. That group included linebacker David Bailey, the No. 2 pick to the New York Jets, and fellow linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who was among the nation’s most productive defensive players and came off the board at No. 43 to the Miami Dolphins.
Wood and company have worked to replace numerous notable defensive contributors from last season’s 12-win team, and though the group may not be quite as heralded this year, it’s more than formidable.
In last Saturday’s 34-26 win over Arizona, the Red Raiders allowed 429 yards. All but a dozen came through the air.
The week prior Cincinnati generated 427 yards of total offense, including 255 on the ground as the Bearcats handed Texas Tech its only loss to this point, 37-24.
The only other Red Raider opponent to find success on the ground this season was Houston when the Cougars picked up 175 rushing yards back in mid-September.
That poses an intriguing matchup against WVU, which has the No. 5 rushing offense in college football at 261.6 yards on average and the third most rushing touchdowns of any team at 26.
Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. is second nationally with 16 rushing TDs and the 15th-leading rusher in FBS with 836 yards. Tailback Cam Cook is ninth nationally with 923 yards on the ground and has seven rushing scores.
“There’s not a guy on defense that you think, I don’t know if he quite fits,” Rodriguez said. “Everyone of them are all-conference caliber players, and I’m not just saying that because we’re playing them next. They’re highly productive, well-coached and very physical. Rarely out of position and they make you earn everything.
“Arizona had a couple big plays, because [quarterback Noah] Fifita scrambled around and he’s an unreal thrower when things break down, but outside of that, they’ve been really good. We have to play a whole lot better than we did our last game to win. We’ve played really on offense on occasion. I’m expecting our guys to play well on offense again Saturday night, but this will be the best challenge we’ve had offensively in any game we’ve played to date.”