For the third week in a row, West Virginia's defense was an issue.
On Saturday against Pitt, the Mountaineer defense gave up two touchdown drives in the final five minutes of the game as WVU's 10-point lead turned into a 38-34 loss.
"Should never lose a game when you're up 10 with under five (minutes) to go," West Virginia head coach Neal Brown said.
WVU scored a 28-yard touchdown to take a 34-24 lead with 4:55 to play. Pitt got the ball back and drove 75 yards on just five plays, scoring a 40-yard touchdown to cut the Mountaineer lead to just three with 3:06 to play.
WVU's offense went three-and-out before Pitt took over again on their own 23 yard line.
Their fast-paced offense moved down the field with ease, going 77 yard in 1:27, scoring a go-ahead and ultimately a game-winning touchdown.
"Let's just say what it is, we have not covered the pass very good. They threw 379 yards today, the quarterback ran around. We got pressure on him and he slipped out several times, credit to him. There's nothing I can say up here, it is what it is. We had it covered and not fired up about it," Brown said.
WVU gave up 15 total 'big time' plays on the afternoon, with nine of them being passes of 15 or more yards and six of them being rushes of 10 or more yards.
On Pitt's final two drives, WVU surrendered three pass plays of 15 or more yards, including the 40-yard touchdown, and three rushes of 10 or more yards, all from Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein escaping pressure and scrambling.
"Just didn't make plays. A lot of them were scrambles which offensively it is kind of what they do. They have a first read, they have a check down and scramble. They scrambled and made plays. And we did not make plays on the ball," Brown said.
"A lot of it on scrambles and then we didn't play the deep ball well. When it happens three weeks in a row, it kind of is what it is. So, we've got to make some changes and some corrections," Brown later added.
This is the second time in as many weeks WVU had given up more than 300 yards through the air. Week one against Penn State, they passed for 235 yards but did so on only 12 completions, averaging 19.6 yards per completion. Last week against Albany, 306 passing yards allowed and 17 yards per completion. Against Pitt, 301 pass yards, 14.3 yards per completion.
"We have to assess it. I think all things. when you don't cover it very well three weeks in a row, it's an issue. I'm not hiding from it, it's an issue," Brown said of his secondary issues.
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