Monday Morning Quarterback: A low point for the Mountaineers
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From a football fan perspective, it doesn't get much worse than this.
The game Saturday at Pittsburgh was against an archrival, a game WVU expected to win, and one in which the Mountaineers had a 10-point lead with less than five minutes remaining and then completely imploded in excruciating fashion.
West Virginia fans began the season with optimism coming off a nine-win season in 2023 with many playmakers returning. But we are only three games into the 2024 season and there are signs it is all beginning to unravel.
Good teams do not give up blocked punts for touchdowns, fail to protect a three-point lead at the end of the game on offense, and yield 162 yards and two touchdowns in four minutes of clock time with the game on the line.
This was a battle between two evenly matched teams. The Panthers showed flaws of their own and committed 112 yards in penalties. But when it mattered the most they made plays and showed they knew how to win. The Mountaineers did just the opposite. In a bizarre statistical anomaly, before those final five minutes West Virginia had completely controlled the second half having outgained Pitt by 175 yards to 4. For the remainder of the game WVU was outgained 160 yards to minus-7.
West Virginia now embarks on its nine-game Big 12 Conference schedule and no objective observer could be optimistic about chances for success, There are a number of good quarterbacks awaiting the Mountaineers and whose eyes will light up when watching game film. The WVU pass defense is atrocious 鈥� allowing Pittsburg 10 pass completions of 17 yards or more.
The Panthers were allowed to convert a first down after 2nd down and 17, 2nd and 19, 1st and 25, and 2nd and 30. The quarterback was able to scramble for 63 yards in the final two scoring drives.
A team can't win playing defense like this. It must get better, but this isn't easily fixed on the run. As coach Neal Brown said in his postgame we can't change personnel. The best players we have are already on the field. So what is the answer? A different scheme? A different defensive coordinator?
And how can any of that be successfully implemented in just the next five days?
THIS SATURDAY: Kansas comes to Morgantown for a Saturday noon game in as bad a mood as the Mountaineers. The Jayhawks were in the preseason Top 25 rankings but then lost two games in which they were favored vs Illinois and UNLV, and made a ton of mistakes in doing so. They are led by a very good quarterback in Jalen Daniels, and that alone should worry WVU fans. Two desperate teams will be looking to turn their disappointing seasons around. Let's hope home field advantage will make the difference, but just to be safe don't wager on the outcome.
WEST VIRGINIA 31 KANSAS 27.