It’s Ridiculous,’ ‘Worst Defense in College Football’ — Rich Rodriguez, Zac Alley Confront West Virginia’s Defensive Woes After Arizona

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West Virginia ran for 303 yards on Saturday and still lost by three touchdowns. Arizona beat the Mountaineers 52-31 at Milan Puskar Stadium, and coach Rich Rodriguez said afterward he has never been more frustrated with his defense.

West Virginia (3-3, 0-3 Big 12) has lost three straight, giving up 41 points to Oklahoma State, 45 to Iowa State and 52 to an Arizona team playing without its four starting pass catchers. It was the most points an opponent has scored in a regulation game at Milan Puskar since Oklahoma had 59 in 2018.

Rodriguez Says West Virginia Defense Still Allowing Big Plays

Big plays were the problem again. Arizona gained 482 yards and had eight plays of 20 yards or more, six of them after halftime. West Virginia’s defense came in having allowed 35 such plays and ranked 133rd nationally in yards allowed, at 456.6 per game.

“We haven’t fixed our issues on defense,” Rodriguez said after the game. “It’s ridiculous giving up so many big plays.”

He said the fans were fantastic and tried to lift the defense, which didn’t reward them enough. Without stops, he said, there was a little bit of pressure on offense to score on every possession, and his play calls sometimes reflected that when they shouldn’t have.

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Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita completed 16 of 23 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns, with receiver Isaiah Mizell catching six passes for 183 yards and two scores. Mizell’s 72-yard touchdown came on a third-down slant against an all-out blitz, and Brandon Phelps scored on a 42-yard flea flicker right after WVU had pulled within 38-31.

In Pro Football Network’s grades, Fifita entered Saturday with a PFN Impact grade of 85.7 this season, tied for 15th of 165 graded and qualified FBS quarterbacks. Rodriguez said Fifita gets rid of the ball quickly and, against cover zero, finds an open receiver before he gets hit.

One WVU fan who has watched the team for 30 years called this group “by far the worst defense I have ever seen.”

Rodriguez said the problems weren’t only on defense. A team can’t win playing that poorly on defense, he said, and it can’t turn the ball over on offense, either.

The offense still moved the ball, piling up 522 yards and 30 first downs. But four first-half drives ended inside the Arizona 5 and produced 10 points, and running back Cam Cook lost two fumbles before halftime.

Arizona safety Lee Molette III returned the first fumble 32 yards for a touchdown. With West Virginia poised to tie the game, cornerback Jay’Vion Cole stripped Cook at the Arizona 2 with 51 seconds left in the half.

Rodriguez Sticks With Zac Alley as Defensive Play-Caller for Now

Defensive coordinator Zac Alley called Saturday’s game from the press box instead of his usual spot on the sideline. Rodriguez said the move was Alley’s decision, but the result wasn’t any different, and there will be a lot of long conversations Sunday.

Rodriguez said not knowing the personnel is no longer an excuse after six games, with most of the players on campus since the spring. The coaches have to put players in better positions, he said, and the progress has to start Saturday night.

Asked whether he would change who calls the defensive plays, Rodriguez said not at this point, though he called it a fair question.

Critics wanted more than that. “Something needs done even if it’s just to make a statement,” one of them wrote, despite never having expected Rodriguez to fire Alley midseason.

Rodriguez had said of the defense on his coaches show Monday, “Nothing was right. We didn’t execute what we were doing, and we probably need to be doing something different for our guys to have success.”

“I think we’re the worst defense in college football,” Alley said at his weekly news conference Tuesday, after Iowa State put up 45 points and 577 yards. He said the staff would simplify the scheme so the players could execute, starting with stopping the run.

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Arizona scored the game’s final 14 points, needing two plays for each of its last two touchdowns, before an announced crowd of 50,121.

After the final play, another wrote that “Fire Alley” chants were coming from the crowd still in the stadium.

Looking Ahead in Week 7 to Cincinnati

West Virginia hosts Cincinnati (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) at noon next Saturday in Week 7. The Bearcats lost at Arizona last Saturday and had this week off.

PFN’s College Football Playoff Meter gives West Virginia a 44.6% chance to win that game and projects the Mountaineers for 5.5 wins this season.

Rodriguez said he doesn’t want to wash Saturday away. The Mountaineers have to learn what they did wrong and what they did well, he said, because they owe that to the program and the fans.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

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