If you've been following West Virginia football closely this season, it would be easy to start abandoning hope as we enter the second half of the season. After all, West Virginia has lost three straight games, and are still without a win in Big 12 action. And in large part, that has been due to some abysmal defensive performances.
Rich Rodriguez has said he believes the team's defensive issues this season are definitely fixable, and he has been working hard with defensive coordinator Zac Alley to find a solution. But after giving up 138 points in their first three conference games, you can't blame fans for getting impatient.
But is there still hope for West Virginia's defense? One trend from past Alley/Rodriguez defenses suggests there could be.
Zac Alley's defenses tend to get better as the season goes on
In 2022 at Jacksonville State, Alley and Rodriguez saw their defense give up a combined 144 points in a four-game stretch where they went 2-2: their next three outings, they gave up just 50 combined points.
The next season, the Gamecocks gave up 89 points over a three-game stretch in the middle of the season, then gave up only 70 combined points in their final four games against conference opponents. So there is evidence in the past of Alley and Rodriguez fixing defenses in the middle of the season that have started with struggles.
"I look back to the notes like, 'Was there a stretch like this before?'" Rodriguez said this week. "I don't remember it being three in a row or four in a row or whatever we did, but if we had bad game, what did we do to adjust?"
"A lot of it was we simplified a little bit, but it was just that players kind of got better growing up in the system, so to speak. The problems that we had, we solved it week by week."
Wondering why Rich Rodriguez is sticking with his defensive coordinator?
— Mike Casazza (@mikecasazza) October 15, 2026
He's not the patient type, but the #WVU coach has seen Zac Alley rebound before. He needs to see it again. pic.twitter.com/y3gulx7uP2
While there is no guarantee that this means the Mountaineers will look like a much better defense by the end of the season. But you can even look at last year, when the Mountaineers gave up a combined 172 points against Kansas, Utah, BYU, and UCF, before giving up just 105 combined points in their next four outings, to see proof of concept at West Virginia as well.
So while it's natural to be looking at this defense and shaking your fist in anger, there might be reason to hold out hope that things still can get better. But if things go poorly again this week, what is already a piping-hot seat for Alley will continue to see its temperature rise.
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