The West Virginia Mountaineers know Iowa State is going to test their communication just as much as their tackling Saturday. Defensive coordinator Zac Alley said the Cyclones’ constant motion, personnel changes and unconventional formations will force WVU to stay composed when the picture changes late. His solution includes a set of emergency checks with a fitting name: the “oh crap” calls.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Alley explained how Iowa State can quickly change the math by adding extra offensive linemen and removing skill-position players. BlueGoldNews shared Alley’s breakdown of the challenge, including how the Mountaineers plan to survive when the defensive call does not perfectly match what the Cyclones actually put on the field.
“Yeah, I think the base things are probably the easiest,” Alley said, via BlueGoldNews. “You know you will have to match up numbers. They will mass sub like eight people. Three of them will be O-linemen coming out. They will put five O-linemen in the game, they’ll take a receiver out and a tight end out. They will give you crazy things.”
WVU Has Built-In Answer for Iowa State’s Personnel Chaos
The difficult part is that those substitutions can create confusion between the sideline, the booth and the players trying to get lined up before the snap. Alley was candid that WVU may not identify every grouping perfectly in real time. Instead of panicking, the defense has installed calls designed to function against practically anything.
“I’m sure we will mess up some personnel from the booth sometime,” Alley said. “So we have some four ‘oh crap’ calls that we know we can play to anything. Like if they say 11, ‘oh crap, it’s 12,’ we know what we’re going to.”
“It may not be perfect, but you’ll be OK,” Alley added.
That might be the most important part of Alley’s plan. Iowa State does not need every shift or substitution to create a huge schematic advantage if it can simply force WVU into hesitation or a busted alignment. The Mountaineers are trying to eliminate that possibility by giving defenders a simple fallback when the offense presents something unexpected.
For a WVU defense coming off a difficult outing against Oklahoma State, communication will be under the microscope in Ames. Iowa State will try to manufacture confusion with motion and changing personnel.
Alley is preparing for the reality that WVU will not diagnose every look perfectly, but the “oh crap” calls are designed to make sure one communication mistake does not become a much bigger one.
WVU DC Zac Alley Reveals ‘Oh Crap’ Calls Designed to Handle Iowa State Chaos