West Virginia knows they squandered an opportunity at a big win against No. 11 Iowa State, but following the loss, their focus is still on their future opportunities.

"Just frustrated. We felt like it should’ve been a closer game and that was a game we should’ve definitely won. We came in this game really confident but of course, frustrated, upset, a lot of different emotions," West Virginia linebacker Josiah Trotter said.

WVU had the momentum early, going up 7-0, and were driving before they missed a key field goal. It was downhill from there as Iowa State did not relinquish momentum.

"The biggest thing is keeping guys together and at this point now, just having to go back, look at the film, focus on next week and fixing the mistakes," Trotter said.

The frustrated mood in the Mountaineer locker room was understandable as they still have not beaten a ranked opponent since 2021.

Iowa State's defense suffocated West Virginia in the second half, holding the Mountaineers to 166 yards of total offense in the second half, while they forced two turnovers as well.

"Trying to keep everyone’s mood together, just not going back and forth, just leaders just having to step up and talk. But the biggest thing knowing that this is the first loss in the division and knowing that our goal is still ahead of us and we just got to focus on fixing these mistakes, going into next week and preparing for Kansas State because we got another ranked team coming in and we have a chance to go out there and change the scenario," Trotter said.

Quarterback Garrett Greene who threw two interceptions in the second half said they are going to correct what went wrong and focus on next week as they have another ranked opponent on the schedule.

"We just got to come back to work, watch it tomorrow, correct it on Monday, and then on Monday really get ready for Kansas State because we got another great opportunity, another really good team coming into town, and we got to have a great week of prep to give us a chance to compete on Saturday," Greene said.

WVU's next opportunity will come on Saturday night at 7:30 when the Mountaineers host Kansas State.

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