Success doesn’t matter on the football field as long as you can’t cross the goal line.

The Mountaineers lost to Texas on Saturday 17-13 — a one possession game. The team made it into the Longhorns’ red zone five times, but failed to score the two times it mattered the most.

In the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers had two opportunities in the red zone to put points on the board, but both came up empty. Those two empty attempts were more than the offense had during the first six games (1).

“It was pretty disappointing not being able to finish,” wide receiver T.J. Simmons said. “I think the offense and the receivers played really well getting the drives going, we’ve just got to do a better job of finishing the drives whenever we get into the red zone.”

With around 11 minutes remaining in the quarter, head coach Neal Brown opted to go for it from the Texas 16-yard line. On 4th and 1, quarterback Jarret Doege could not connect with tight end Mike O’Laughlin to keep the drive going.

“The first one probably could have gone either way,” Brown said. “We could have kicked a field goal or gone for it. [I] really liked the play there. We had people open, we just didn’t connect.”

After the West Virginia defense forced a Texas punt on the next drive, the Mountaineers were facing a similar situation.

This time, the Mountaineers were at the Texas 8-yard line. Doege again missed on a pass, this time in the direction of wide receiver Ali Jennings, and the Mountaineers ultimately came up empty.

According to Brown, statistics played a key role in the decision to go for it.

“I don’t regret going for it because there’s all kinds of data that says it’s the right thing to do,” Brown said postgame. “In this league, you better score touchdowns down there to win, and that’s proven week in and week out.”

Entering Saturday, the Mountaineers were 10-for-15 on 4th down conversions, ranking fourth in the Big 12. The 15 attempts were the most in the conference.

“I don’t regret the decisions,” Brown said. “We’re going to be aggressive, but it’s on me [being] in charge of the offense, and we’ve got to do a better job.”

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