"The bottom line is: They played better than we did on all three sides of the ball. They out-coached us and they played harder than we did. We just didn't play very well. They were the better team today."
– Dana Holgorsen on 10/13/12 after Texas Tech Loss
Don’t know how many times Coach Holgorsen will have to say this in his career at WVU, but if we continue on this path his post-game comments will likely often include these sentences. Over the past two weeks, Mountaineer fans have experienced a crash that makes his daily comedown from 10 Red Bulls seem like nothing.
Instead of a "post-game" report, this is more of a post-mortem. Many things died tonight, so it seems appropriate. It’s time to bid a painful farewell to the following:
1. Good-bye Heisman Trophy. WVU had a legitimate Heisman candidate through six games this year. The nation was willing to give Geno a pass last week because he still hadn’t thrown an interception and they largely blamed the defense. Not now. He threw his first interceptions and his offensive line let him down for the second straight week. Don’t know when our school will have another legit candidate, but it was fun for half a season.
2. Good-bye Big 12 championship, a BCS game and a decent bowl game. Kansas State is the real deal and it is unlikely that they will lose to Texas Tech, Oklahoma State or Texas at home. That just leaves TCU & Baylor for road games. But we still have TCU, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Iowa State. Three weeks ago I was optimistic we could beat Oklahoma. Now I’m worried about Iowa State.
3. Good-bye to WVU upper classmen defensive backs in the starting lineup. Colin Klein – an avowed "non-passer" – had a career night on the road in Morgantown. If we’re going to lose in embarrassing fashion, we might as well play freshman so they can get some valuable game experience while we’re getting waxed in the Big 12.
4. Good-bye to Holgy’s chastising of our crowd’s non-involvement. This fan/coach relationship is a two-way street. Dana, you’d better bring your "A" game if you expect our fans to bring theirs. I’d be surprised to hear our Head Coach complain about the crowd (even the booing), unless he’s looking for a way out of Morgantown sooner than later. Hopefully he’s taken note of Rich Rod’s mistakes and will not bolt under the pressure. Coach, it’s time to take your medicine and accept responsibility. Don’t blame the early crowd exit - if you do that you’re going to have to get mad at me for switching over to the FSU-Miami game. You need to lead by example and admit you’re dropping the coaching ball (on all three of its sides). The players may need to make plays, but part of coaching is saying what you need to say (to players or coaches) to get them to achieve. That's why you're making 2.3 million dollars this year.
5. Good-bye to the Defensive coaching staff. Before this year WVU had never in our history given up 600 yards in a game. We’ve done it twice this year – and it would’ve been a third time tonight if the classy Bill Snyder hadn’t taken his foot off the gas. And we’re not close to done with this season. Someone is responsible and it isn’t just the players not making plays. This isn’t the NFL, but I wouldn’t be completely surprised if Holgy (under pressure from Oliver Luck) made the move soon. After the Orange Bowl last year, Dabo Swinney fired his D.C. for a single embarrassing game on the tail end of a poor season (in which they won the ACC).
It is clear that our Head Coach has some tough decisions to make.