West Virginia's leaders responded in a big way against Kansas
There was a lot of outside noise surrounding the West Virginia football program this week after they started the season 1-2, including a heartbreaking loss to rival Pitt last week.
They were able to drown the noise out and delivered a heartbreaking blow of their own to Kansas on Saturday, as they came back to score 15 unanswered points in the final 3:27 to get the 32-28 win over the Jayhawks.
"Offense put the defense in a really tough spot. After they punted after our break and we went three and out, we put the defense in a really, really bad spot. They had the ball on the minus 40 or something, and they went down and scored, and I never lost faith in the guys that I play with because they're my brothers, I love them, and I believe in all of them," West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene said after the game.
Greene orchestrated two drives, which both went four touchdowns on WVU's final two chances on the afternoon.
Greene was not the only leader to step up as Tyrin Bradley made two game-changing plays, including an interception as well as a strip sack and recovery to seal the win for the Mountaineers.
"Last week it was a lot of emotions. That was a big game for us and the state and obviously, we didn't finish the way we wanted to. So, coming into this one we were down. And we knew if the offense just gave us a chance we were going to continue to fight. That's been our whole mentality to show the Big 12, show the world, this is who we are as a defense and as a team," Bradley said.
Part of the key for Bradley and the team bouncing back was their preparation throughout the week he said. He added they wanted to remain steady and just stick to what they were good at.
"It started Monday for us, the preparation. We knew it was going to be tough; we knew that we were going to have to come in and fight, and the whole time, it was just about us staying steady. Not getting too high, not getting too low, and just playing the course of the game and taking what comes to us as a defense and just doing our job overall," Bradley said.
Head coach Neal Brown knew this week was challenging for his group but felt like they stepped up to the plate and delivered as an overall unit.
"We've got good character on the team. We've got guys that know right from wrong, we got guys that have been in the program that have really good leadership skills. And this game to me, what I tried to speak to them was about this really says who you are — who you are individually, who we are as a team. How do you respond to adversity because I really believe football is the best preparer for life of any sport. Our backs were against the wall, and I thought our guys came out and fought. It's really not outcome-based, you want the guys to get the reward but they fought and they showed what kind of character and competitive character they have," Brown said.
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