--We can point to the final play of this game as much as we want, but West Virginia lost this football game throughout with an absolute inability to put it away or create any comfortable distance when they had opportunities to do so. In fact, the Mountaineers were trailing 14-10 at half despite for the most part dominating the game in every category outside the scoreboard. But as I often said under Dana Holgorsen, you can't score yards. This team had made it's bones by playing smart, sound and not beating themselves. This was everything but that. The Mountaineers finished with 8 penalties for 84 yards, including yet again getting tagged with one for taking their helmets off on the field after the go-ahead touchdown with 12 seconds remaining. That simply can't happen and the fact it's now happened twice in big moments is unacceptable. West Virginia also lost the turnover battle in crushing fashion on a pass that quite literally bounced off a running back's chest on a wheel route which should have been six points but instead was an interception in the end zone. We can sugar coat this all we want, but this was a game that a good team finds a way to win and West Virginia couldn't do it. Houston was begging to be put away at times early in this game and this team just couldn't make enough plays to do it. Some of it can be attributed to early play calling, some of it just players not making plays when they were there -- but if you continue to play this style you can't afford to do it without discipline.
--This isn't a season crushing loss by any means, but it definitely is a gut punch to the 4-1 start this team put together. Losing to the former coach that most people were ready to run out of town doesn't help matters either especially when you lose the game in a fashion similar to so many of his losses during his tenure with good offensive football but essentially breakdowns in every area and with discipline. West Virginia was starring down the possibility of being 5-1 and 3-0 in the Big 12 against a team that has unquestionably been the worst in the league through the early stages of this year. Instead, they let this one get away and while you can point to a lot of things ultimately it needs to be in the mirror. But even with that being said, West Virginia deserves credit for battling back. Trailing 35-24, this team scored not one but two touchdowns to take the lead before the Hail Mary and showed a lot of grit when the game looked grim. This was again quite literally a toss up at the end, but this time the coin didn't land heads up.
--Brown is now 26-27 as the head coach at West Virginia at the halfway point of year five. Winning this game would have put him over .500 and now the four game win streak is over. This team has certainly been a surprise through six games, but I don't think anybody can realistically tell you that they thought Brown would be one game under .500 when he was hired back in 2019. There's a lot of season left, but the concerns and questions over expectations overall (not just this season) are certainly fair.
--The Hail Mary. That's about as gut wrenching of a way to lose as I can imagine. It was well executed by Houston, but the Mountaineers misplayed the ball and weren't able to bat it down which led to the catch. Again, you can't help but think about the penalty to set them up there but that's a swing from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in as short of a span as I can remember since I've been doing this. The question now becomes how does this team rebound?
--West Virginia had 39 points, 546 yards of total offense, 26 first downs, was +29 in plays and 14-20 on third and fourth downs, 4-4 in the red zone, had almost a 14-minute advantage in time of possession and still somehow lost this football game. That is the second time that West Virginia has gone for at least 540 yards under Brown against FBS opponents since he arrived in 2019 and are 0-2 with the last one the 38-17 loss to Texas Tech in his first season. You can't score yards.
--On the flip side, the Mountaineers held Houston to 7 offensive points and 109 total yards in the first half but gave up 27 and 284 yards in the second. The Cougars got something going on the final drive of the half and carried that over into the second as the defense just simply got caught in bad positions over and over. It's no surprise that Dana Holgorsen can coach offense and he got his team turned around but the Mountaineers simply needed to make some plays. That just didn't happen for most of the second half.
--Redshirt junior quarterback Garrett Greene missed a few throws tonight, notably the 3rd and 6 to CJ Donaldson and a few others but he played very well for the most part and gave the Mountaineers a chance to win this game despite their deficiencies in so many other areas. Greene was 20-38 for 391 yards and 2 touchdowns, while rushing for 47 yards and 2 more scores. He looked completely healthy and while he needs to continue to fine tune his accuracy, there is a lot of potential here with what he is able to do with his arm and legs. That throw that he made to Hudson Clement on fourth down was very impressive as he stood in the pocket and delivered a strike. I understand Houston simply isn't good on the defensive side, but this is by far the best that the offense has looked against an FBS opponent all season and it was without two starters on the offensive line. I'm intrigued.
--It was encouraging to see West Virginia take deep shots in this game and connect. The Mountaineers had only 2 pass plays over 30+ yards against FBS teams and in this game had five players have at least one catch that traveled that distance. It was good to see those pass catchers shaking free and making plays.
--I thought West Virginia held up in pass protection all night long and didn't allow a single sack. But the run blocking simply wasn't good enough as the Mountaineers averaged just 3.5 yards per carry and if you take out Greene's yardage that total gets worse. Yes, again two starting linemen were out but you have to win there in this matchup. CJ Donaldson had 17 carries for 66 yards and a score, but the Mountaineers simply just aren't making people miss to get chunk plays.
--Devin Carter showed up in this one with 116 yards receiving on five catches. It's the first time a West Virginia player has eclipsed the 100-yard mark this season against an FBS team and while he did have the one jarred free late, it was good to see him make an impact.
--Special teams just simply wasn't good in this game. The Mountaineers mishit the kickoff that was returned for a touchdown but Matt Golden didn't even have to make anybody miss because it was essentially a free run to the end zone. Overall Houston averaged 37 yards per kick return, and almost had a punt return for a touchdown but there was a holding penalty on the play. Still even that kick didn't have hangtime and allowed that possibility. On the flipside, the kick return team continues to just be unable to break big ones and at times the punt return team didn't do their job either. Special teams has been a real weapon this season, it wasn't tonight.
--Onto Oklahoma State, because that's all we really can do at this stage. West Virginia is now 4-2, 2-1 in the league and any dream's of riding into Norman at 8-1 are over. Now there's still a whole lot left in the final six games and the schedule didn't suddenly become more difficult just because the Mountaineers fell flat in this game. The Cowboys have been up and down this season and it's certainly a winnable game in Morgantown. But you won't be able to help but think about what could have been if this team was able to get out of its own way at times and find a way to put teams away. It's been a problem for five seasons and when you fail to do that you allow teams to hang around and believe they can win. And sometimes, they actually do as the Mountaineers found out the hard way tonight.
--This isn't a season crushing loss by any means, but it definitely is a gut punch to the 4-1 start this team put together. Losing to the former coach that most people were ready to run out of town doesn't help matters either especially when you lose the game in a fashion similar to so many of his losses during his tenure with good offensive football but essentially breakdowns in every area and with discipline. West Virginia was starring down the possibility of being 5-1 and 3-0 in the Big 12 against a team that has unquestionably been the worst in the league through the early stages of this year. Instead, they let this one get away and while you can point to a lot of things ultimately it needs to be in the mirror. But even with that being said, West Virginia deserves credit for battling back. Trailing 35-24, this team scored not one but two touchdowns to take the lead before the Hail Mary and showed a lot of grit when the game looked grim. This was again quite literally a toss up at the end, but this time the coin didn't land heads up.
--Brown is now 26-27 as the head coach at West Virginia at the halfway point of year five. Winning this game would have put him over .500 and now the four game win streak is over. This team has certainly been a surprise through six games, but I don't think anybody can realistically tell you that they thought Brown would be one game under .500 when he was hired back in 2019. There's a lot of season left, but the concerns and questions over expectations overall (not just this season) are certainly fair.
--The Hail Mary. That's about as gut wrenching of a way to lose as I can imagine. It was well executed by Houston, but the Mountaineers misplayed the ball and weren't able to bat it down which led to the catch. Again, you can't help but think about the penalty to set them up there but that's a swing from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in as short of a span as I can remember since I've been doing this. The question now becomes how does this team rebound?
--West Virginia had 39 points, 546 yards of total offense, 26 first downs, was +29 in plays and 14-20 on third and fourth downs, 4-4 in the red zone, had almost a 14-minute advantage in time of possession and still somehow lost this football game. That is the second time that West Virginia has gone for at least 540 yards under Brown against FBS opponents since he arrived in 2019 and are 0-2 with the last one the 38-17 loss to Texas Tech in his first season. You can't score yards.
--On the flip side, the Mountaineers held Houston to 7 offensive points and 109 total yards in the first half but gave up 27 and 284 yards in the second. The Cougars got something going on the final drive of the half and carried that over into the second as the defense just simply got caught in bad positions over and over. It's no surprise that Dana Holgorsen can coach offense and he got his team turned around but the Mountaineers simply needed to make some plays. That just didn't happen for most of the second half.
--Redshirt junior quarterback Garrett Greene missed a few throws tonight, notably the 3rd and 6 to CJ Donaldson and a few others but he played very well for the most part and gave the Mountaineers a chance to win this game despite their deficiencies in so many other areas. Greene was 20-38 for 391 yards and 2 touchdowns, while rushing for 47 yards and 2 more scores. He looked completely healthy and while he needs to continue to fine tune his accuracy, there is a lot of potential here with what he is able to do with his arm and legs. That throw that he made to Hudson Clement on fourth down was very impressive as he stood in the pocket and delivered a strike. I understand Houston simply isn't good on the defensive side, but this is by far the best that the offense has looked against an FBS opponent all season and it was without two starters on the offensive line. I'm intrigued.
--It was encouraging to see West Virginia take deep shots in this game and connect. The Mountaineers had only 2 pass plays over 30+ yards against FBS teams and in this game had five players have at least one catch that traveled that distance. It was good to see those pass catchers shaking free and making plays.
--I thought West Virginia held up in pass protection all night long and didn't allow a single sack. But the run blocking simply wasn't good enough as the Mountaineers averaged just 3.5 yards per carry and if you take out Greene's yardage that total gets worse. Yes, again two starting linemen were out but you have to win there in this matchup. CJ Donaldson had 17 carries for 66 yards and a score, but the Mountaineers simply just aren't making people miss to get chunk plays.
--Devin Carter showed up in this one with 116 yards receiving on five catches. It's the first time a West Virginia player has eclipsed the 100-yard mark this season against an FBS team and while he did have the one jarred free late, it was good to see him make an impact.
--Special teams just simply wasn't good in this game. The Mountaineers mishit the kickoff that was returned for a touchdown but Matt Golden didn't even have to make anybody miss because it was essentially a free run to the end zone. Overall Houston averaged 37 yards per kick return, and almost had a punt return for a touchdown but there was a holding penalty on the play. Still even that kick didn't have hangtime and allowed that possibility. On the flipside, the kick return team continues to just be unable to break big ones and at times the punt return team didn't do their job either. Special teams has been a real weapon this season, it wasn't tonight.
--Onto Oklahoma State, because that's all we really can do at this stage. West Virginia is now 4-2, 2-1 in the league and any dream's of riding into Norman at 8-1 are over. Now there's still a whole lot left in the final six games and the schedule didn't suddenly become more difficult just because the Mountaineers fell flat in this game. The Cowboys have been up and down this season and it's certainly a winnable game in Morgantown. But you won't be able to help but think about what could have been if this team was able to get out of its own way at times and find a way to put teams away. It's been a problem for five seasons and when you fail to do that you allow teams to hang around and believe they can win. And sometimes, they actually do as the Mountaineers found out the hard way tonight.
