MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia hadn’t been blanked for a stretch of 150 games, and the fact a shutout occurred under the watch of Dana Holgorsen and Shannon Dawson was the most stunning aspect of a 37-0 loss to Maryland.
“It pisses you off, because it’s a border rivalry and they got the best of us,” Dawson said Tuesday night. “It’s like getting beat up by the guy down the street—you’ve got to see his ass everyday, for another year, and he whipped your ass. So, you know, suck it up and do something about it.”
Now WVU stands as a 21-point home underdog against No. 11 Oklahoma State, beginning a stretch of eight consecutive Big 12 games in which the Mountaineers must break even to earn a bowl invite.
Saturday’s whitewashing in Baltimore sent the Mountaineers spiraling in the 123-team FBS statistical rankings—down to 108th in scoring (18 points per game), 109th in third-down conversions (28.8 percent), 89th in passing efficiency (118.16) and 72nd in total offense (393 yards per game).
“I know we’re a lot better than what we put out there Saturday,” said Dawson, emphasizing he understands the media perception that West Virginia’s offense suddenly has turned feeble.
“When you view it from the outside, that (Maryland game) was ugly. If I was on the outside, I’d be saying the same exact thing. But when you see it everyday like I do, I know we’re better than that and we’re going to show we’re better than that.”