West Virginia Crushed in Coal Rush

The No. 11 Iowa State Cyclones play spoiler and bury the Mountaineers

Oct 12, 2024; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Iowa State Cyclones running back Carson Hansen (26) runs the ball for a touchdown against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second quarter at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. / Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Morgantown, WV – The West Virginia Mountaineers (3-3, 2-1) dropped their first Big 12 Conference game of the season to the No. 11 Iowa State Cyclones (6-0, 3-0) Saturday night 28-16.

West Virginia methodically moved the ball down the filed on the opening drive of the game for 75 on 14 plays for the touchdown. Senior quarterback Garrett Greene completed three passes for 21 yards and ran for 16 yards on a bootleg to set the offense up at the ISU 11 before sophomore running back Jahiem White ran into the endzone from eight yards out for the early 7-0 advantage.

Iowa State tied the game early in the second quarter when sophomore quarterback Rocco Becht found Jaylen Noel down the seam for the 60-yard touchdown pass.

On Iowa State’s ensuing possession, the Cyclones chipped away at the Mountaineers, but found success in the air with Becht hitting senior receiver Jayden Higgins for 18 yards and consecutive carries from sophomore Carson Hansen for 25 yards and the touchdown for the 14-7 lead with 2:43 left in the first half.

West Virginia quickly got into Iowa State territory after Greene connected with senior tight end Kole Taylor for a 24-yard toss and catch, and then hit sophomore Traylon Ray for 13 yards to the Cyclone 31-yard line. However, the drive stalled, and the Mountaineers settled for a 43-yard field goal from Michael Hayes as the Cyclones took a 14-10 lead into halftime.

Early in the fourth quarter, Iowa State capped off a 10-play 65-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run from Hansen and the Cyclones extended their lead 21-10.

Following Greene’s second consecutive interception, Iowa State took over at the WVU 33-yard line and the Cyclones put the game away with Hansen carrying the load with six carries for 20 yards and the touchdown for a 28-10 lead with 4:42 to play.

West Virginia constructed a 11-play 67-yard drive in the final minutes of the game to cut into the deficit but too little too late as Cyclones came away with the 28-16 victory.