MORGANTOWN — So much was the same for the West Virginia University football team between last Saturday’s game and this Saturday’s game. It was another night game on national television versus another nationally ranked opponent.
The outcome was the same, too, as were the reasons for it.
Errors on offense plus too many big plays allowed on defense added up to the Mountaineers’ second straight loss, this time 45-18 to No. 17 Kansas State at Milan Puskar Stadium. After opening the Big 12 schedule with a pair of wins, WVU (3-4, 2-2 Big 12) fell to even in the conference slate, needing three wins in its final five games to qualify for a bowl.
To add insult to literal injury, three key members of WVU’s offense – quarterback Garrett Greene, left tackle Wyatt Milum and running back Jahiem White – were absent for the second half of Saturday’s game after getting hurt.
WVU coach Neal Brown said he believed a rash of head injuries forced him to juggle the lineup.
“Four of them in total,” Brown said. “I didn’t get to talk to (head football athletic trainer) Vince (Blankenship) because he was so busy after the game.”
The Mountaineers found themselves in an early 17-3 hole due to the same issues that cropped up last week in a loss to Iowa State. After trading field goals, KSU quarterback Avery Johnson connected with Jadon Jackson up the middle of the defense for a 60-yard touchdown to give the Wildcats (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) a 10-3 lead. On the ensuing drive, Greene threw his second interception of the game, this one to Marques Sigle, who returned it 43 yards for a touchdown and a 17-3 Kansas State lead.
“The first interception was unfortunate,” Brown said. “It wasn’t a great pass that got tipped. The second, really, was a good play by them. … Our hot throw was in the flat and they were sitting right there.”
The Mountaineers didn’t fold. WVU responded with a 13-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, capped by Greene’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Hudson Clement to cut the lead to 17-10. WVU’s defense forced Kansas State to punt on their next drive, and the Mountaineers were able to drive from their 8 to the Wildcats’ 3.
That drive, however, was fruitless. It ended when Greene’s pass to Kole Taylor in the end zone on fourth and 1 was off target. Kansas State took over with 22 seconds left in the half and kneeled out the clock to head to the locker room up 17-10.
“Going into the game, we were going to be aggressive,” Brown said. “We knew we were going to have to score touchdowns.
“We felt like we had a good play,” he added. “We had a touchdown play. We just didn’t execute it.”
WVU exited the locker room for the third quarter without those three major offensive cogs and backup quarterback Nicco Marchiol couldn’t rekindle his magic from WVU’s last win over Oklahoma State. The Wildcats outscored the Mountaineers 28-8 in the second half to put the game away.
For a while, it looked like WVU was able to handle some of Kansas State’s strengths. The Wildcats entered the game the No. 8 rushing team in the Football Bowl Subdivision and, despite being without starting corner Ayden Garnes and starting spear Aubrey Burks, held KSU to just eight rushing yards in the first half. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers gained 146 rushing yards in the first half against a KSU defense that entered Saturday allowing just 71.7 yards per game.
Yet the Mountaineers had few answers for KSU quarterback Avery Johnson. Johnson finished with a career-best 298 yards and tied for a career-best three touchdowns on 19-of-29 passing and kept the Wildcats on the field. KSU was able to convert 7 of 12 third downs and a fourth down on Saturday.
“They just found some holes in our defense,” linebacker Trey Lathan said. “They were really good at their checking. That’s about it.”
Despite missing the entire second half, Greene led WVU with 88 rushing yards on 10 carries and 85 yards on 9-of-19 passing. Marchiol finished with 58 yards and a touchdown on 6-of-13 passing and no rushing yards on nine carries.
WVU returns to the road for the next two games, Oct. 26 at Arizona and Nov. 9 at Cincinnati.
“We’ve got to get well,” Brown said. “Then we’ve got to give ourselves a chance. We’re going to have to practice smart. We’ll have to practice really intelligently this week, get well, then go out to the west coast and put together a game.”
— Story by Derek Redd
