COMMENTARY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Dana Holgorsen called it “a damn shame.” And for football fans who crave a side dish of tackling with their touchdown entrees, it was exactly that.
So goes life in the Big 12, which carries a justifiable reputation for being superb at moving the ball and barely there when it comes to stopping it. (Remember how the conference stood at the forefront of reducing full-contact practices? Well, Friday made us wonder if they reduced contact in games.)
Starved for a win over Oklahoma after six failed attempts, the Mountaineers attacked Senior Night by stockpiling 56 points. Turns out they needed 60.
It’s a damn shame that Will Grier’s 539 passing yards became a footnote, and that Gary Jennings’ 225 receiving yards were reduced to a parting gift. David Sills produced 131 yards worth of catches, too, none of which soothes the ache of missing out on the Big 12 championship game.
Instead, the Sooners are going back to Arlington, thanks to their splendid collection of offensive skill players that carry the water for a yogurt-soft defense.
Ironically, it was OU’s defense that swung Friday’s game despite trying its darnedest most of the night to give it away. Two scoop-and-scores created by Grier fumbles produced massive turns.
One of those came on a well-timed linebacker blitz by Caleb Kelly. (Or maybe it was the ghost of Eric Striker.)
The other turnover-turned-touchdown was flukish — a fumble that occurred as Grier tried to exercise some sack-avoidance by flipping away a pass. Straight up in the air the ball went before landing at the feet of two Mountaineers. They only managed to wrestle it free from one another before Curtis Bolton collected the gift and scooted 48 yards.
It’s a damn shame that West Virginia’s class of upstanding seniors had to hear OU players celebrating with their own version of “Country Roads.” If the Sooners keep monopolizing this series, they soon might own the song’s copyright.
It’s a damn shame that Jennings lost a first-half touchdown when Sills collided with a defensive back and was flagged for an illegal pick play. (Never mind that said DB was drastically out of position and had zero chance of getting to Jennings. Never mind that Sills attempted to jump out of the DB’s path to avoid contact.)
It’s a damn shame that Holgorsen compounded the ref’s questionable call with one of his own, gambling on fourth-and-6 from the 10. Take the three, dude! Even against OU’s paltry defense, converting a fourth-and-6 play in tight space is no gimme.
It’s a damn shame that Kennedy McKoy’s 74-yard run in the fourth quarter was mostly negated because of T.J. Simmons blocking a Sooners cornerback into the West Virginia bench.
Was Simmons excessive in his out-of-bounds blocking? Certainly. Did the Sooners defender put up a lick of resistance? Nope.
“I don’t think you call that one in that moment,” said Mountaineers assistant Tyron Carrier, who had charged his receivers to be more physical.
It’s a damn shame that for two seasons the Mountaineers featured an atomic-armed quarterback directing an exceptional offense, yet they won’t finish any better than fourth place in the Big 12 either time.
“We didn’t make our goal,” Holgorsen said. “Not going to the Big 12 championship is a damn shame.”
West Virginia was a smidge better than Texas, and a sliver shy of Oklahoma, the tandem who’ll be composing next week’s matchup at Jerry World.
The real shame is that West Virginia left itself no margin for error after staging a no-show in Ames and collapsing in Stillwater.
The last breath expelled Friday was an onside kick that Oklahoma corralled with 4 minutes left. No way was Kyler Murray going to grant WVU another possession. (If only the Mountaineers had garnered a few first downs during their final 4 minutes at Oklahoma State …)
A conference race primed for West Virginia’s big breakthrough never materialized.
As Black Friday lapsed into Saturday and the stadium emptied, Holgorsen somberly said: “I think everybody would understand that we were close.”
Close.
In the absence of championships, coming close will have to suffice.