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It was an unbelievable double miracle game. Unfortunately it had a wrong ending.
West Virginia was down three points facing fourth-and-10 from midfield with no timeouts and only seconds remaining. The only reasonable hope was to be able complete a pass for a first down and kick a long field goal to take the game to overtime. But quarterback Garrett Greene hit Hudson Clement in stride, who then outraced the Houston secondary for a touchdown with just 12 seconds remaining. It was a miraculous play that would have completed an amazing comeback and catapulted the Mountaineers to a 5-1 record.
But it was not to be. Houston had time for two plays. A short pass got them to near midfield, close enough that a desperation pass could get to the end zone. And to the horror of WVU fans the pass bounced around and fell into the hands of a Cougar receiver on the final play, handing the Mountaineers a devastating loss.
As we mentioned here last week, even good teams are not going to win every close game. And that became painfully true for WVU faithful. It was a fluke play. But they all count.
When playing in close contests little things matter. After the final West Virginia touchdown Garrett Greene was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct apparently for removing his helmet while on the field. The penalty yielded 15 yards of field position on the ensuing kickoff which enabled the final desperation heave to reach the end zone. While this rule may seem unreasonable, everyone knows what it is. WVU was flagged for the same violation in an earlier game. Everyone knows keep your helmet on until you reach the sidelines to celebrate with your teammates.
Head Coach Neal Brown noted in his postgame that despite the final play it was not the sole reason the Mountaineers lost the game. The West Virginia defense reverted to 2022 form in the second half, allowing Houston to drive for touchdowns on three consecutive possessions, missing tackles and allowing huge chunk yardage plays. WVU was also outplayed on special teams, giving up a 100-yard kick return for a TD in the first quarter.
The West Virginia offense was the best it had been all season, putting up 39 points and 546 total yards. But it was not enough to overcome defensive and special teams failures and a bizarre final play.
THIS SATURDAY: Oklahoma State comes to Morgantown for a 3:30 p.m. game this Saturday. The Cowboys got off to a slow start in 2023 but are now on a roll coming off two consecutive upsets at home over Kansas State and Kansas.
But they will not be the only opponent. The other is fighting off the malaise that can set in after an excruciating loss. The game in Houston is over and can't be changed, so this one loss cannot be allowed to linger and cause even more. The challenge for the coaching staff and team leadership is to put it behind them and refocus on the remaining half of the schedule.
WEST VIRGINIA 30 OKLAHOMA STATE 27.