West Virginia @ Iowa State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 28, 2015 ) Iowa State 6, West Virginia 30

West Virginia will try and put behind the disappointment of having its Big 12 Conference title hopes crushed with a home loss to Oklahoma when it travels to suddenly red-hot Iowa State on Saturday. The Cyclones have won back-to-back Big 12 games for the first time since the 2013 season and come in off a record-setting 66-10 beatdown of Texas Tech.

West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen has told his 17th-ranked Mountaineers (8-2, 5-2) to be ready for their "toughest week of the year." Besides the obvious let-down spot after the deflating 56-28 loss to the Sooners, it will be Senior Day at Iowa State which rolls in with plenty of momentum. "We put a lot into (the Oklahoma) game, and it didn't go the way we wanted it to," Holgorsen said. "We're disappointed with it, but we've got a tough one on the road against Iowa State, and you saw what they did to Texas Tech. It's going to be the toughest week of the year, but I'm anxious to see how the guys respond. One thing I know about this group is they're going to continue to fight and continue to work. There's no doubt in my mind they're going to prepare and practice and put as much into it as they possibly can. I know they're going to do that. With that said, it's going to be a tough week."

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, FS1. LINE: West Virginia -7

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (8-2, 5-2 Big 12): Quarterback Skyler Howard is completing 63 percent of his passes for 2,753 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and also has rushed for 326 yards and eight more scores. Junior wide receiver Shelton Gibson, who has caught 37 passes for 766 yards and six touchdowns, leads the Big 12 in yards per reception, averaging 20.7 yards per catch while junior running back Justin Crawford is closing on 1,000 yards rushing with 930 yards on just 122 carries -- a glossy 7.6 yards per carry. Senior linebacker Justin Arndt, who has a team high 63 tackles, including three sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss, and senior cornerback Rasul Douglas, who ranks second in the nation with seven interceptions, lead the Mountaineers' defense.

ABOUT IOWA STATE (3-8, 2-6): The Cyclones set all-time school records for points against a conference opponent (66), margin of victory against a league foe (56), points in a quarter (31) and fell just three points short of most points in a half (48) with 45 in the first 30 minutes in the win over Texas Tech last Saturday. It was the best game this season for Iowa State's two quarterbacks as Jacob Park threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns, while Joel Lanning ran for 171 yards and five scores. Wide receiver Allen Lazard leads the team in receptions (65), receiving yards (915) and touchdown receptions (7) while the defense, which is allowing an average of 25.2 points over the last five games, is led by defensive back Kamari Cotton-Moya who returned a Patrick Mahomes pass 48 yards for a touchdown last week, Iowa State's first pick-six since the 2012 Liberty Bowl.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Iowa State has lost 19 consecutive games against ranked opponents

2. West Virginia leads the series, 3-1, and had has won both of the previous meetings in Ames.

3. Iowa State finished with 608 yards of total offense in the blowout of Texas Tech, its first 600-yard game since 2008.

PREDICTION: West Virginia 38, Iowa State 31