After Saturday’s showing by West Virginia football against Missouri, there’s literally nowhere to go but up. How can they get there?
Neal Brown’s first road adventure with the West Virginia Mountaineers was an ugly one, losing to the previously win-less Missouri Tigers 38-7. He’ll want to put this loss behind him, but Brown will need to address a number of things to improve moving forward; there’s plenty of things to work on, too.
Missouri racked up 382 offensive yards against the Mountaineers, including 232 on the ground. And while WVU’s run defense was simply overpowered and outmatched, they weren’t alone. The Mountaineer offense couldn’t get in any sort of rhythm. Their secondary couldn’t make plays when the Tigers put the ball in the air. And Brown didn’t do a very good job of making adjustments throughout the game.
Austin Kendall got his second start for the Mountaineers, but it wasn’t anything like his first. He completed 15 of his 25 pass attempts, but threw two interceptions for a total quarterback rating of 14.0. Not ideal. Kelly Bryant, on the other hand, looked like a Heisman Trophy candidate, as he threw for 150 yards and three scores while conducting five scoring drives. We also learned he can dance, as Bryant was leaning and rocking to D4L’s “Laffy Taffy,” before halftime. The Mountaineers couldn’t do anyhting but watch.
Not many expected West Virginia to win, but those same skeptics didn’t foresee a thrashing like this. It was an embarrassing performance. With 10 games left on the schedule, though, it’s important they keep their heads high and continue to work.
What went wrong in Game No. 2 for the Mountaineers?