West Virginia head coach Neal Brown mainly talked about his team’s lackluster fourth quarter performance in their 48-34 loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday.
“Crazy fourth quarter. I don’t think I’ve ever been apart of a game like that. This one stings even more than the one last week,” Brown said.
Fourth Quarter Failure
West Virginia held a 24-20 lead in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma State. The Cowboys would end up scoring 28 points in the fourth quarter, including 145 rush yards. Running back Ollie Gordon ran for touchdowns that were 46 and 53 yards each.
The Mountaineers were trailing by seven, and had a fourth down near midfield. Garrett Greene kept the ball, and was stopped in the backfield. On the next play, Gordon rushed for a 46-yard score, effectively ending the game.
“They get the ball at midfield and from there on out it’s the Ollie Gordon show. He had 150 yards in the fourth quarter. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that,” Brown said. “I’ve never been apart of a team that gives up 150 yards in a quarter to somebody. I don’t know if we tackled him in the fourth quarter.”
Brown added to the point that the Mountaineers had a lead in the final 15 minutes, but they were unable to close things out.
“We’re up 24-20 in the fourth quarter and we don’t get it done. You have to figure out ways to win especially at home when you’re up 24-20 at home,” Brown said. “I refuse to take easy outs. The questions are legit questions. I just refuse to accept [fatigue] as an answer. They’re playing the same schedule we are. They played on Saturday, we played on Thursday.”
Greene is Good Again
Garrett Greene was the heartbeat of WVU’s offense once again. Greene rushed for 117 yards and passed for 249 yards and two scores.
“Garrett played his tail off. He gave us a chance to win,” Brown said.
A place Brown was critical of Greene was on the fourth down play call and how it was a zone read that he kept instead of handing it off.
“It was a zone read, and you’ll have to ask him, but my hunch is pretty good with him and he just tried to make a play,” Brown said. “He said Im going to make a play and the end got upfield and he should’ve handed it.”
Injuries
A couple of injury notes as wide receiver Hudson Clement and kicker Michael Hayes were both injured in the game. Clement came out of the locker room in a walking boot and street clothes, while Hayes was ran into on an extra point late in the game.
Brown said of Hayes: “He got hit in the lower leg pretty good. Hopeful, we’ll know a little more when I get with the trainers after this.”
Brown said of Clement: “He had a lower leg injury. Will know more when I meet with you guys on Monday. He had an x-ray that’s all I know.”
