West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez appeared to have one reason for why his team wasn’t more successful in Arizona State’s 25-23 win on Saturday: short-yardage running.
Rodriguez held his hands up about six inches apart and said a variation of “(West Virginia) couldn’t run the ball this far” six times when speaking to reporters postgame.
rich rodriguez held his hands up about six inches apart and stressed west virginia’s inability to “run the ball this far” six times in a ~3-min span after losing to asu.
key run stops by asu in short yardage led to wvu scoring three points across its first three red zone trips. pic.twitter.com/RXyaY0088s
— Damon Allred (@iamdamonallred) November 16, 2025
The Sun Devils held the Mountaineers to three combined points on their first three red zone trips, with short-yardage stops contributing to two turnovers on downs.
West Virginia had second-and-4 from eight yards out when it netted two yards on two rushes before throwing an incompletion on fourth-and-2 from the six. It later had third-and-goal from the five and netted four yards on two rushes, giving ASU the ball back on its one.
The Sun Devils are 14th among 68 Power Four teams and fourth in the Big 12 at holding teams scoreless on red zone trips (78.38% scores, including field goals).
“You gotta be able to run the ball this far to win the game and you got about seven opportunities to do it, and you don’t do it,” Rodriguez said. “You run for 68 yards. It’s embarrassing. If you can’t run for more than 68 yards, you don’t deserve to win the game.”
ASU has held teams below 68 yards two other times this season — it held TCU to 10 yards on 25 carries and Mississippi State to 66 yards on 30 carries. West Virginia got its 68 yards on 39 rushes and lost 28 yards on three sacks.
ASU is second in Big 12 rush defense at 117.7 yards allowed per game after it led the league a season ago at 112.9 yards per game.
Linebackers Keyshaun Elliott and Jordan Crook are two of the biggest reasons behind the success in both seasons, first and second on the team in tackles this year with 82 and 80, respectively. They also lead the team in tackles for loss (11 and eight, respectively) while Elliott also has a team-high five sacks.
Rodriguez indicated the Mountaineers only hit on their couple of explosive pass plays — including a screen that went for 90 yards and a touchdown — because of how much ASU was leaning into defending the run.
The ASU defense may be sensing blood in the water entering its matchup against Colorado on Saturday, as the Buffaloes have next-to-last rush offense in the Big 12 at 122.1 yards per game.
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