--You can say that this game was meaningless or West Virginia didn’t have their full complement of players or whatever else excuse can be mustered but the end result is just another disappointing effort in a bowl game and a bucket of ice water on a season that already had many people feeling let down. No, the Mountaineers didn’t have a lot of key pieces on offense and even lost some players on defense during the game but that’s part of the process when it comes to getting those ready behind them. Would this game have been different with Will Grier and company playing? Yeah, likely so but it didn’t work that way and in the end it’s just another flat finish but this time to a season that started with so much promise. These results can’t be argued, West Virginia lost three straight games to end the season and is now 2-5 in bowl games under head coach Dana Holgorsen and almost all of those losses have been largely uncompetitive. That’s going to head into the off-season with some angst.
--Give Syracuse credit, they made the adjustments at halftime and outscored the Mountaineers 20-6 in the second half as they were able to sustain drives and finish them while West Virginia couldn’t.
--The usage of the quarterbacks pretty much unfolded exactly how I thought it would when Dana Holgorsen first mentioned that both of them were going to play. I figured that Trey Lowe would get some snaps but that was more of a smoke screen to get Syracuse to look at it than any actual intention of what was going to really unfold. I mean let’s be honest, is the head coach that keeps everything under wraps just so willingly going to let out that information? As for the quarterback play, redshirt sophomore Jack Allison looked uneven throughout the game and while he got into a rhythm later seemed rattled for most of it. He had one really bad misfire and came in hot more times than you’d want him to but you did see some glimpses of things you could work with next year. Still he held onto the ball too long, was inaccurate at times and seemed to really lack confidence in the pocket. He did flash his arm strength at times and made some good throws as well but overall it didn’t inspire a ton of confidence and is going to leave some big question marks at the spot unless he can improve, which players often do with more time and reps. Some of the sacks weren’t his fault but he finished 17-35 for 277 yards and an interception. As for Trey Lowe? We just didn’t see enough, he flashed his athleticism on a nine-yard run but looked just as rattled, if not more, than Allison on his passes. I’ll be interested to see how that is handled moving forward and how the competition shapes up during the spring as well as what the Mountaineers do with looking at any possible additions but I do think it was telling the way the reps were split in this game and indicative of which quarterback the coaches believe gives them the best shot to win a game as of today. That should be an interesting off-season discussion because the best pass of the night might have come from tight end Trevon Wesco.
--If you’re curious Allison on third down was 4-9 for 62 yards and two first downs.
--West Virginia actually finished with more yards (423) than Syracuse (418) but I’ve said this a lot and I’ll say it again – you can’t score yards. Thought the zone read element to the offense really didn’t make a lot of sense considering Allison was no threat to run. Also wasn’t encouraged taking quarterbacks off the field in order to run some gadget plays at times but in the end kicking field goals don’t beat touchdowns. I do think Holgorsen tried to take some pressure off the defense but they were too conservative at times which cost them working behind the sticks in red zone and just outside the red zone situations.
--You know what else stood out to me? 6-21 on critical downs and 1-2 in the red zone. That isn’t going to cut it. Especially when your opponent in 3-3 in the red zone resulting in 21 of their points.
--Felt West Virginia did a good job establishing the run in the first half with 124 yards but it was basically non-existent in the second half with 22 (!) yards on 16 rushes. Syracuse made some adjustments and basically were banking on the Mountaineers being conservative and they played into their hands.
--I’ll have the final numbers in the Numbers and Notes but West Virginia played great defensively at times and others looked about as bad as you possibly could. At times the defense put on a missed tackle clinic with bad play on the perimeter and some other issues that resulted in big chunks of yards on short designed plays. Overall, the defense was put in some tough spots and forced two turnovers while recording five sacks but all of those were in the first half. That play where Dungey dumped the ball off to the running back and it essentially turned a 20-yard loss into a 40+ yard gain pretty much summed it up.
--It definitely was a banner first half for the defense though as West Virginia held Syracuse in checks but in the second half the Orange were able to get things rolling and get into their tempo some. West Virginia forced more three and outs in the first half then they did in the last two games of the year combined, which was zero. They got 8.8 yards per play on first down and that allowed them to get things cranked. When they passed the ball on first down the Orange was 13-15 for 207 yards.
--West Virginia really struggled run blocking in the second half and was really surprised the pressure that Syracuse was getting by bringing only three guys. At times they were simply just bulldozing block attempts which didn’t combine well with a green quarterback in the backfield. I had been harder than anybody on the group at times throughout the year but this was a step back after some good play.
--A total of nine players caught a pass in this game but simply too much of it wasn’t down the field.
--I’ll say this, regardless how you feel about players skipping bowl games or playing in them I’ll never forget David Sills on one knee at the end of the game and how much emotion he showed. He could have sat this one out but he didn’t and it’s a shame that he wasn’t able to get a win tonight. He finished his final game with four catches for 90 yards and it was sad to see him not get the ball even more. He finishes his career with 35 touchdown catches, second most all-time, not bad for a former quarterback at all. Hat tip to him from a professional and personal level.
--IF and a big IF this is redshirt junior David Long’s final game as a West Virginia football player he ended it about where you’d expect with a team-leading 14 tackles and 0.5 a tackle for loss giving him the all-time single season record of 19.5 beating out Johnny Dingle. Long just plays hard and is seemingly always around the ball and if he doesn’t come back that’s going to be a tough spot to fill.
--Redshirt junior linebacker Shea Campbell also was very good in this one and simply played with effort from start to finish. He was second with 10 tackles including a sack.
--I know he missed an extra point but hats off to Evan Staley for connecting on four field goals including a career long of 49-yards. I really liked what I saw out of him for the most part this year and he really took a step forward to really seize that job.
--West Virginia now heads into the off-season off the sting of another disappointing bowl loss. This team is going to have some serious questions moving ahead and it will be interesting to see how some of those holes are addressed either with guys currently on the roster or transfers. Still, you can’t walk away from tonight feeling great about the outcome regardless of the other factors. People have a right to be frustrated after the way this season unfolded and I expect things are going to get louder before they calm down in the coming weeks. But that’s where we find ourselves as the calendar flips to 2019.
--Give Syracuse credit, they made the adjustments at halftime and outscored the Mountaineers 20-6 in the second half as they were able to sustain drives and finish them while West Virginia couldn’t.
--The usage of the quarterbacks pretty much unfolded exactly how I thought it would when Dana Holgorsen first mentioned that both of them were going to play. I figured that Trey Lowe would get some snaps but that was more of a smoke screen to get Syracuse to look at it than any actual intention of what was going to really unfold. I mean let’s be honest, is the head coach that keeps everything under wraps just so willingly going to let out that information? As for the quarterback play, redshirt sophomore Jack Allison looked uneven throughout the game and while he got into a rhythm later seemed rattled for most of it. He had one really bad misfire and came in hot more times than you’d want him to but you did see some glimpses of things you could work with next year. Still he held onto the ball too long, was inaccurate at times and seemed to really lack confidence in the pocket. He did flash his arm strength at times and made some good throws as well but overall it didn’t inspire a ton of confidence and is going to leave some big question marks at the spot unless he can improve, which players often do with more time and reps. Some of the sacks weren’t his fault but he finished 17-35 for 277 yards and an interception. As for Trey Lowe? We just didn’t see enough, he flashed his athleticism on a nine-yard run but looked just as rattled, if not more, than Allison on his passes. I’ll be interested to see how that is handled moving forward and how the competition shapes up during the spring as well as what the Mountaineers do with looking at any possible additions but I do think it was telling the way the reps were split in this game and indicative of which quarterback the coaches believe gives them the best shot to win a game as of today. That should be an interesting off-season discussion because the best pass of the night might have come from tight end Trevon Wesco.
--If you’re curious Allison on third down was 4-9 for 62 yards and two first downs.
--West Virginia actually finished with more yards (423) than Syracuse (418) but I’ve said this a lot and I’ll say it again – you can’t score yards. Thought the zone read element to the offense really didn’t make a lot of sense considering Allison was no threat to run. Also wasn’t encouraged taking quarterbacks off the field in order to run some gadget plays at times but in the end kicking field goals don’t beat touchdowns. I do think Holgorsen tried to take some pressure off the defense but they were too conservative at times which cost them working behind the sticks in red zone and just outside the red zone situations.
--You know what else stood out to me? 6-21 on critical downs and 1-2 in the red zone. That isn’t going to cut it. Especially when your opponent in 3-3 in the red zone resulting in 21 of their points.
--Felt West Virginia did a good job establishing the run in the first half with 124 yards but it was basically non-existent in the second half with 22 (!) yards on 16 rushes. Syracuse made some adjustments and basically were banking on the Mountaineers being conservative and they played into their hands.
--I’ll have the final numbers in the Numbers and Notes but West Virginia played great defensively at times and others looked about as bad as you possibly could. At times the defense put on a missed tackle clinic with bad play on the perimeter and some other issues that resulted in big chunks of yards on short designed plays. Overall, the defense was put in some tough spots and forced two turnovers while recording five sacks but all of those were in the first half. That play where Dungey dumped the ball off to the running back and it essentially turned a 20-yard loss into a 40+ yard gain pretty much summed it up.
--It definitely was a banner first half for the defense though as West Virginia held Syracuse in checks but in the second half the Orange were able to get things rolling and get into their tempo some. West Virginia forced more three and outs in the first half then they did in the last two games of the year combined, which was zero. They got 8.8 yards per play on first down and that allowed them to get things cranked. When they passed the ball on first down the Orange was 13-15 for 207 yards.
--West Virginia really struggled run blocking in the second half and was really surprised the pressure that Syracuse was getting by bringing only three guys. At times they were simply just bulldozing block attempts which didn’t combine well with a green quarterback in the backfield. I had been harder than anybody on the group at times throughout the year but this was a step back after some good play.
--A total of nine players caught a pass in this game but simply too much of it wasn’t down the field.
--I’ll say this, regardless how you feel about players skipping bowl games or playing in them I’ll never forget David Sills on one knee at the end of the game and how much emotion he showed. He could have sat this one out but he didn’t and it’s a shame that he wasn’t able to get a win tonight. He finished his final game with four catches for 90 yards and it was sad to see him not get the ball even more. He finishes his career with 35 touchdown catches, second most all-time, not bad for a former quarterback at all. Hat tip to him from a professional and personal level.
--IF and a big IF this is redshirt junior David Long’s final game as a West Virginia football player he ended it about where you’d expect with a team-leading 14 tackles and 0.5 a tackle for loss giving him the all-time single season record of 19.5 beating out Johnny Dingle. Long just plays hard and is seemingly always around the ball and if he doesn’t come back that’s going to be a tough spot to fill.
--Redshirt junior linebacker Shea Campbell also was very good in this one and simply played with effort from start to finish. He was second with 10 tackles including a sack.
--I know he missed an extra point but hats off to Evan Staley for connecting on four field goals including a career long of 49-yards. I really liked what I saw out of him for the most part this year and he really took a step forward to really seize that job.
--West Virginia now heads into the off-season off the sting of another disappointing bowl loss. This team is going to have some serious questions moving ahead and it will be interesting to see how some of those holes are addressed either with guys currently on the roster or transfers. Still, you can’t walk away from tonight feeling great about the outcome regardless of the other factors. People have a right to be frustrated after the way this season unfolded and I expect things are going to get louder before they calm down in the coming weeks. But that’s where we find ourselves as the calendar flips to 2019.
