Staff Picks: No. 11 Iowa State @ West Virginia

Iowa State Cyclones defensive back Jontez Williams intercepts a pass against Baylor during the third quarter at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

No. 11 Iowa State faces West Virginia Saturday (6:30 p.m. FOX) in its third Big 12 game of the season. Here are our staff’s picks.

Chris Williams (4-1)
Iowa State hasn’t seen the schedule that West Virginia has. I question how much heart this Oklahoma State squad the Mountaineers bullied last week was playing with. Feels like a coin-toss game. Give me the good guys. Iowa State 27, West Virginia 24

Rob Gray (4-1)
The Mountaineers’ running back duo of Jahiem White and C.J. Donaldson — along with dual-threat quarterback Garett Greene — will sap the Cyclones’ strength on the defensive side of the football, but I’m convinced that the Cyclones will continue to deploy a balanced attack offensively. Toss in Ben Brahmer, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel’s big play capabilities in the passing game — and in Noel’s case, the return game — and ISU looks to keep its dream season alive. The Cyclones do all the right things in the margins and escape Morgantown with a crucial win. Iowa State 27, West Virginia 24

Jeff Woody (5-0)
The game has the inverse feel of the Will Grier WVU game with Iowa State being the favored team. But the difference is Iowa State has the past experience of being the one doing the upsetting. WVU is going to come out flying. But there’s too consistent of a game plan for the Cyclones to keep them down for long. Iowa State comes back in the 3rd and holds on in the 4th. Iowa State 30, West Virginia 24

Connor Ferguson (5-0)
Woody took my uniform inverse deal I was going to write 500 words about so I’ll keep it somewhat brief. West Virginia hasn’t beaten a great team yet, and that version of Oklahoma State was nowhere close to one. Iowa State’s defense is able to again limit a dual threat quarterback and the Cyclones pull away late. Iowa State 29, West Virginia 20

Grant Mahoney (5-0)
I don’t know what to make of this game – I think it’s a prove it game for both teams. ISU is 5-0 but hasn’t really played a good offense, so are they for real? WVU is 3-2 and their two losses are to two undefeated teams but their 3 wins are from a 2-3 FCS team, they snuck past an abysmal 1-5 Kansas team at home, and beat a 3-3 Oklahoma State team (after a bye week), whose defense is among the worst in the country (130 out of 133) – but currently have the 4th best odds to win the conference, so are they for real? If ISU can get up early and force WVU to pass the ball, I like ISU’s chances. If WVU gets up early and they get that raucous “Coal Out” crowd behind him, ISU could suffer their first loss of the season. Iowa State 38, West Virginia 27

Jackson Pence (5-0)
This is by far Iowa State’s biggest test of the year to this point in the season. The Cyclones are the better team, but when you factor in the Mountaineers’ home-field advantage and black-out night game, this game is 50-50. I worry about the health of the Cyclones defense, especially true freshman linebacker Cael Brezina. But one thing I don’t worry about is the Iowa State offense. It still feels like they have another gear to reach. Higgins and Noel each have a long touchdown catch and the Cyclone offense stays hot. The defense will give up some points, especially on the ground, but Heacock and Co. rally late to force a turnover or two and Iowa State stays undefeated at 6-0. The last time that happened… it was 1938. Iowa State 38, West Virginia 31