The West Virginia football team was dominated at home by No. 17 Kansas State losing 45-18 to fall to 2-2 in the Big 12 Conference.
The Mountaineers are now 3-4 on the season and WVSports.com takes a look back at what unfolded in our weekly feature The Day After.
HOT:
Run defense. Until late in the game, West Virginia was able to keep the Kansas State rushing attack in check with just 26 yards rushing on 16 carries and while they increased that total with things out of hand the Mountaineers did a good job stopping the run and forcing the Wildcats to throw the football.
Resiliency early. While it didn't matter in the end, West Virginia put together a string of good football after falling behind 17-3 with a pick-six. The Mountaineers tacked on a touchdown to cut into the lead, got a stop and then drove the ball all the way down the field only to be stopped at the doorstop of tying the game up.
NOT:
Turnovers. West Virginia again doomed themselves with mistakes as the Mountaineers had two turnovers including one which was returned for a touchdown.
Pass defense. The Mountaineers allowed Avery Johnson to toss for a season-high 298 yards and 3 touchdowns and he made it look easy. It seemed that the defense again struggled with their drops and getting into the right spots and he took advantage.
Offense. Garrett Greene didn't play his best game in this one, but outside of his rushing the Mountaineers really didn't have much of an answer on the offensive side of the football. It was a struggle all around and once Greene left the game things didn't get any better. For the game, West Virginia averaged only four yards per play.
DEFINING MOMENTS:
3rd and 6 from WVU 47. The Mountaineers moved the ball on their second drive, but on third down Greene tried to fire the football into Traylon Ray and the ball hit off his hands into the waiting arms of Jack Fabris for a Kansas State interception to set themselves up at their own 37.
3rd and 8 from 50. With a chance to get off the field, the West Virginia defense allowed the Wildcats to connect on an 18-yard pass to keep the drive alive. It would result in a field goal to give Kansas State a 3-0 lead with 3:03 remaining in the first quarter.
1st and 10 from WVU 43. Greene took off down the left side for 28 yards which put the Mountaineers in field goal range. While the drive would ultimately stall, West Virginia would hit a 44-yard field goal to tie the game up at 3-all with 52 seconds left in the first quarter.
1st and 10 from KSU 40. Right after the Mountaineers tied the game, it took just two plays for Kansas State to score a touchdown with a 60-yard pass for a touchdown to Jadon Jackson to give the Wildcats the lead right back at 10-3 with 21 seconds left in the first quarter.
3rd and 9 from WVU 35. Facing a third down, Greene fired a pass to the left but a poor throw went right into the arms of Kansas State defensive back Marques Sigle who returned it for a touchdown to give the Wildcats a commanding 17-3 lead with 13:14 remaining in the first half.
3rd and goal from KSU 6. After driving down the field the Mountaineers faced a third and goal but Greene stood in the pocket and fired a ball to Clement who scored a six-yard touchdown to cap off a 13-play drive and close the gap to 17-10.
3rd and 4 from KSU 48. On the ensuing drive, the West Virginia defense was able to force a punt after Keke Tarnue was able to break up a pass on third and short to get the football back to the offense.
4th and 1 from KSU 4. After a seven-yard screen pass on third down, West Virginia was facing a fourth and short and Greene rolled to the right but misfired the ball at the feet of the defender to keep the score at 17-10 and leave a strong drive without points.
4th and 5 from WVU 40. On the opening drive of the second half, West Virginia was able to get into the backfield on a sack and couldn’t bring Johnson down which resulted in a first down. The Wildcats would cap off the drive with a touchdown to completely retake the momentum and a 24-10 lead.
3rd and goal from WVU 1. After consecutive stops, Kansas State was able to get into the end zone on a touchdown toss to take a 31-10 lead and basically put the game away.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
-7 - Turnover margin for West Virginia through seven games.
3 - Yards per carry by Kansas State running back DJ Giddens. He came in averaging 7.3 per attempt.
4 - Yards per play for West Virginia. Kansas State was at 7.5.
3-17 - Neal Brown's record against ranked teams.
7 - Consecutive double-digit losses to ranked teams.
7-12 - Third down conversions by Kansas State.
13 - Consecutive games that West Virginia has started with the football.
15.7 - Average yards per completion for Kansas State.
27 - The largest home defeat under Neal Brown.
28 - Second-half points allowed by West Virginia.
1,086 - Days since West Virginia last beat a ranked team a 38-31 win over Iowa State on Oct. 30, 2021.
GAME BALL:
Nobody. West Virginia lost at home by 27-points in a game that wasn't even competitive after halftime. The Mountaineers were within striking distance at 17-10 heading into the halftime break but due to injuries and inconsistency this game was over and there wasn't a lot that really stood out in a positive fashion for the Mountaineers.
BIGGEST QUESTION/CONCERN MOVING FORWARD:
Can this team rebound? West Virginia is now 3-4 and is 0-3 against ranked opponents each of those losses at home in games that largely weren't competitive down the stretch. This latest example was the worst as the Mountaineers had their worst loss under head coach Neal Brown at home 45-18 and were dominated on their home-field.
The game was within reach in the first half, but key mistakes coupled with some injuries at key spots allowed the Wildcats to run away with things in the second half.
This team now is sitting with a losing record and five games remaining with a trip to Arizona on deck with plenty of questions about the availability of some of the key players on the team after several leaving with injury against Kansas State.
The Mountaineers aren't going to have long to try to figure it out either as the matchup with Arizona is less than a week away and falling to 3-5 could be a disaster of a start for this team and would mean that the program has to win at least one road game to become bowl eligible which in itself is a far cry from the preseason expectations.
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