The Coal Rush concept looked cool both on the field and in the stands, but the performance of those in the all-black uniforms was a sight to behold. West Virginia fell 28-16 to No. 11 Iowa State on Saturday night.

Here are some of my thoughts after this one.

After West Virginia’s eight-minute scoring drive to open the game, Iowa State took full control, although this did not show on the scoreboard until the fourth quarter. The Mountaineer defense did well to get the Cyclones on third down, but time and time again failed to get a stop and get off the field.

Offensively, every time they found a hint of momentum, a bad snap, a missed assignment, a bad play call or a lack of execution happened. It was a one-score game for most of the night, but with the way WVU struggled on offense, it never felt like it.

WVU had a chance to go up two scores early in the game, but a Rodney Gallagher drop in the red zone limited them to a field goal attempt. Michael Hayes hooked a 36-yarder and left possession empty-handed. Just a few plays later, Jaylin Noel hits his head on the goal post during a wide-open Cyclone touchdown.

In the second half, WVU’s defense bent but didn’t break, and the offense did nothing to get back into the game when Garrett Greene threw a few picks. When the defense had to step up and make a stop on fourth down late in the fourth quarter, they couldn’t get through.

West Virginia is not 3-16 under Neal Brown when playing against ranked opponents. At some point you have to start winning these games more often to show signs of progress. Their three wins so far? UAlbany and a pair of Big 12 teams that have a combined record of 0-6 in league play.

Being defeated is one thing, but constantly beating yourself is a bigger problem. That is a coaching and discipline problem. Brown said his team wasn’t going to back down on the big stage and they may not have backed down, but they certainly stepped up and made winning plays. Neal will get another chance against a ranked opponent next week. We’ll see.

Yates must have had at least ten bad snaps, most of which put the offense in a tough spot. I understand that you don’t want to trade a sixth year for a freshman in a game like this, but sometimes you have to roll the dice. I mean, it couldn’t be worse, right?

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