A long, miserable football season comes to an end on Nov. 30 when the Mountaineers host Iowa State for Senior Day.
To put the words long and miserable into perspective, let's recap the first 11 games that have led to a 4-7 record.
The Mountaineers opened the season against William & Mary at home on Aug. 24. Heading into the first game against the Tribe, WVU was without a named starter. Paul Millard, Clint Trickett and Ford Childress all were in the running to take the first snaps of the season at quarterback. Millard would be tabbed as starter, and it was not pretty. William & Mary took a 17-7 lead into the halftime break, and the Mountaineer fan base was worried that the FCS opponent would escape Morgantown with a win. WVU would put together a second half comeback, scoring 17 unanswered points to finish the game, and advance to 1-0 with a 24-17 victory over the Tribe.
After leading the Mountaineers to a comeback win, Paul Millard went into week two against Oklahoma knowing he would start the game on the road in Norman. Running back Dreamius Smith opened up the game with a 75-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter, and the Mountaineers were on top early 7-0. The touchdown by Smith proved to be the only points of the day for WVU, and the Mountaineers dropped their first game of the season 16-7 at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners. The story in this one was the eight total turnovers between the two teams. Another key stat was third down conversions for the Mountaineers. WVU finished the day 3 of 13 on third down. Quarterback Paul Millard was 21 of 41 for 218 yards and one interception.
The Mountaineers returned home on Sept. 14 to take on the Georgia State Panthers. After Millard struggled in Norman, head coach Dana Holgorsen decided to make a switch at the quarterback position. Holgorsen decided to go with Ford Childress. The young quarterback put on a show for the Mountaineer faithful, totaling 359 yards through the air and three touchdowns in a route of the Panthers, 41-7. The offense finished with 604 total yards, and seemed to hit stride for the first time all season long.
Heading into game number four against Maryland, WVU fans had seemed to gain some confidence about the product on the field. That confidence was quickly erased by the Terrapins in a 37-0 blowout of the Mountaineers. The win by Maryland was their first since 2004 against West Virginia. After having an outstanding performance in his college football debut, Childress was anything but sharp against the Terrapins. Childress finished the day 11 of 22 for 62 yards and two interceptions on a rainy day in Baltimore. A dejected 2-2 WVU football team headed back to Morgantown to welcome the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
The subpar outing by Childress led to another change at quarterback. This time, Florida State transfer and West Virginia native Clint Trickett got the call. The No. 11 Cowboys would be his first opponent as a member of the Mountaineers. After a miserable day in Maryland, most would have assumed WVU would show up flat and get blown out by Oklahoma State. The Cowboys got on the board first on a 73-yard rushing touchdown by Josh Stewart, putting State ahead 7-0. A quick three-and-out by the Mountaineers gave the ball back to J.W. Walsh and the Cowboy offense. On this possession, WVU defensive back Ishmael Banks made a game changing play when he intercepted Walsh and took the ball 58 yards for a pick six. From this point on, the Mountaineers took over in front of a packed house. WVU would score 10 unanswered points to give themselves a 17-7 lead early in the second quarter. The Mountaineers took a 24-14 lead into the break. Oklahoma State quickly erased the 10 point lead to just three after halftime on a 30-yard pass play from J.W. Walsh to Jeremy Seaton, making the score 24-21. That would be all the points the Cowboys were able to manufacture against a stout West Virginia defense, and the Mountaineers pulled off the 30-21 upset of the No. 11 ranked Cowboys.
Now at 1-1 in the conference, WVU headed into Waco to take on the Baylor Bears. To save space, let's just say this one was ugly. The Bears torched the West Virginia defense for a Big 12 record 864 yards of offense. To be honest, the Bears could have easily reached over 1,000 yards, but head coach Art Briles decided to take his starters out early in third quarter. At the end of the day, the Bears walked away with a 73-42 win over the Mountaineers.
At this point in the season, the Mountaineers sat at 3-3 with a 1-2 conference record.
The next two games would be devastating for WVU. On a rainy day in Morgantown, the Mountaineers had an undefeated Texas Texas team on the ropes before surrendering an 11-point lead in the second half. The Red Raiders escaped Morgantown with a 37-27 win. The story was Texas Tech tight end Jace Amaro. Amaro finished the day with nine receptions for 136 yards and two touchdowns. The Mountaineers now were under .500 for the first time in the season at 3-4.
The Mountaineers headed back out on the road against Kansas State. The Wildcats entered the game at 2-4. Another second half collapse by the Mountaineers led to a 35-12 Kansas State win. The Wildcats scored 28 unanswered pointed to advance to 3-4. The Mountaineers now would need three wins in the final four weeks to make a bowl game.
WVU would head to Fort Worth, Texas to take on the TCU Horned Frogs in a matchup of 3-5 teams. Another slow start led to a TCU lead of 17-3. It looked as if the Horned Frogs would put the Mountaineers away early, but the WVU defense did a great job at making adjustments and slowing the TCU offense. The Mountaineer offense responded by scoring 24 unanswered points to give WVU a 27-17 lead. A fourth quarter collapse for the second time in three games allowed TCU to hit a field goal with 19 seconds left in regulation, and tie the game at 27. The game would go into overtime, and TCU would get the ball first. The Horned Frogs were unable to move the ball, and a key personal foul penalty led to a 62-yard field goal attempt. The missed field goal by TCU set up an opportunity for WVU to win the game, and they did just that. Josh Lambert hit a 34-yard field to give the Mountaineers a 30-27 win.
Now at 4-5, the Mountaineers returned home the following week to take on conference leader Texas. The stipe-the-stadium promotion, retro helmets and night game atmosphere had the Mountaineers ready to play. WVU would get the first points of the game on a punt block safety by Jewone Snow, giving the Mountaineers a 2-0 lead. The offense would add a touchdown on a three yard run by Charles Sims, putting WVU up 9-0. The Mountaineers would maintain the lead, and take a 19-13 advantage heading into the break. The Mountaineers would go up by a score of 26-16 midway through the third quarter, and it looked as if Texas was on the ropes. The lead would quickly be erased by the Longhorns. Two quick touchdowns put Texas up 30-26 at the end of the third quarter. The Mountaineers would get the lead back on an eight yard rushing touchdown by running back Dreamius Smith. Texas would respond on a touchdown pass from quarterback Colt McCoy to Jaxon Shipley giving the Longhorns a 37-33 lead. A 72-yard pass play from Clint Trickett to Mario Alford put the Mountaineers back in front, 40-37, with eight minutes to go. Unfortunately, WVU was unable to maintain the three point lead, and Texas would hit a field goal with 13 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime for a second straight week. In overtime, Texas scored a touchdown, taking a 47-40 lead. The Mountaineers needed seven to stay alive. A 21 yard jet sweep by Mario Alford gave the Mountaineers the ball at the Texas 4. A couple run plays on first and second down set WVU up with a prime opportunity to score from the Texas 1. An incompletion to Cody Clay set up the Mountaineers in a do-or-die situation. On fourth down, Texas would intercept a pass, and escape Morgantown with a win, 47-40.
The emotional loss did not come without injury. Quarterback Clint Trickett was knocked out early in the second quarter, and Paul Millard finished the game. On defense, Jared Barber and KJ Dillon were both lost for the season. Heading into the final two games, the Mountaineers would need to win both to reach the six wins required for a bowl game.
That's when things got even worse. The hangover from Texas proved to be too much for the Mountaineers, and the Kansas Jayhawks ended a 37 game Big 12 conference losing streak. The Jayhawks won 31-19, and fans stormed the field in Lawrence as the clock ran out. Kansas fans also tore down a goal post, and deposited the remains in a nearby lake. It was an ugly and embarrassing loss to say the least.
That brings us to now. The Mountaineers are 4-7, 2-6 in conference, and will miss a bowl game for the first time since 2001. Most WVU fans cannot remember the last time the Mountaineers did not reach a bowl game. The disappointment is real, and will ultimately lead to head coach Dana Holgorsen being criticized for running the program into the ground. But before criticizing Coach Holgorsen, it is important to note a couple things. First things first, the injuries have plagued his team all season long. This is an issue that caused the Mountaineers to lose depth, and have several players take more snaps than usual. It's also important to note that this team can be described in one word, and that's young. This team has a lot of undeveloped talent. For these reasons, it's vital to not give up on the Mountaineers just yet.
The Mountaineers will close out the season on Nov. 30 against Iowa State.
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