Iowa State football was perfect in the month of October. 4-0.

The Cyclones defeated then-No. 3 Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas Tech and then-No. 4 TCU. Even though the record looked perfect, coach Matt Campbell knows there’s improvements starting this week in preparation for West Virginia.

“I think it’s another good challenge for us,” Campbell said. “We’re going to have to be calculated. We’re going to have to do a really good job mixing and matching what we do in this game.”

The first thing people need to know about West Virginia is the name Will Grier. It’s an unfamiliar name to the Big 12 Conference, but it’s becoming more known throughout the 2017 season.

Grier is a transfer from Florida and had to sit out last season because of NCAA regulations. He redshirted his first year at Florida and then played in six games for the Gators his second year. After those two seasons, he made the decision to transfer to West Virginia.

Now, he’s one of the most dominant quarterbacks in the Big 12. He’s first in passing touchdowns with 28 and second, behind Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph, with 2,752 passing yards. He’s also ranked third, behind Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield and Rudolph, with a 162.6 passer rating.

“I don’t know, he’s just a really good quarterback,” said linebacker Marcel Spears Jr. “We’re just trying to prepare for him and prepare for the whole team.”

Another name that people should know on West Virginia’s offense is wide receiver David Sills V. He leads the Big 12 in receiving touchdowns with 15 and has 781 receiving yards this season. Sills is the favorite target for Grier and it’s shown throughout the 2017 season.

Along with Grier being a top rated quarterback in the Big 12, he also has his weaknesses. He leads the Big 12 in interceptions this season with nine, which puts a smile on Iowa State’s defensive coordinator Jon Heacock’s face.

“Our defense has been progressively getting better each day in practice, but we haven’t reached our max yet,” Heacock said. “We have to go back to stopping the run. That’s what we hang our hat on and let some [big runs] out of the gate.”

Iowa State has had 10 interceptions throughout the season and will be looking to take advantage of Grier’s leading statistic.

Iowa State’s defense can’t just focus on the passing game and rely on the secondary because the Mountaineers have a running back core.

It’s led by Justin Crawford and Kennedy McKoy, who are both ranked in the top 15 for Big 12 rushing yards.

Crawford is the leader in the backfield totaling seven rushing touchdowns and 684 rushing yards, while McKoy has rushed for 336 yards with four touchdowns.

“Will Grier has a strong arm, great arm. He can make all the throws,” said defensive back Reggie Wilkerson. “They have a great running back, a couple good receivers on the outside. Our job is to just contain those guys and do what we can.”

The Cyclones need their offense as well. They need the offense for all four quarters. The past couple of games against Texas Tech and TCU, Iowa State has scored a total of seven second-half points in those four quarters. Those seven points came from a defensive pick-six. 

Offensive coordinator Tom Manning and quarterback Kyle Kempt are aware of the situation and hope this weekend against West Virginia can be a turnaround.

“I want our offense to be better in the second half,” Kempt said. “It’s on me. I got to them going out of halftime so we can finish out the game and we don’t have to rely on our defense every time.”

Many of the players and coaches agreed that the offense was just a couple plays away from making some big runs or catches that would’ve led to scores in the second half. The plan just didn’t end in Iowa State’s favor.

Offensive lineman Jake Campos said the line needed to make a couple more openings in the second half to allow David Montgomery to get through and find themselves into the end zone.

“I’ve already seen improvements in practice regarding our second half drives,” Manning said. “I think we’ll be ready when it comes to Saturday at West Virginia.”