FANPOST: Good, Bad, & Ugly of Iowa State

The Good:

1. Oliver Straw - This is what the season has come to: the punter is the player of the game for the Mountaineers. The last time this happened was the 1994 Kickoff Classic against Nebraska when Todd Sauerbraun was the only bright spot for the Mountaineers.

2. We are almost done climbing...hopefully - After this game, I wouldn’t be surprised if Shane Lyons told Neal to find his own way back to Morgantown. That was one of the most atrocious games I’ve ever seen out of a WVU team. The team has given up. Their body language on the field & the sideline told the story. They only cared about getting off of that field as quickly as possible.

3. Garrett Greene - I realize that it was garbage time, but much like last year, Garrett brought an energy and extra dimension to the offense.

The Bad:

1. JT Daniels - He looked absolutely lost out there the entire game. This is a former 5 star QB. He overthrew receivers, threw the ball behind them, and looked extremely tentative the entire game. He’s regressed over the last 3 - 4 games. Multiple times, he threw into double or triple coverage over the middle. With the season essentially over, I’d seriously consider giving Greene or Nicco Marchiol a shot over the last three games to see what we have to build on for next season.

2. Offensive line - Justin Johnson had to absolutely fight for every yard he gained today. He was hit within 1 - 2 yards of the line of scrimmage on every play. The offensive line got absolutely zero push. They also struggled in pass protection too. Iowa State was only credited with 2 sacks, 2 QB hurries, and 3 tackles for loss, but it felt like they were in the backfield disrupting plays all day.

3. Our receivers - I don’t know what the issue is, but none of our receivers can get any separation on their routes. All year JT Daniels has had to throw balls to receivers with defenders blanketed all over them.

The Ugly:

1. The offense - I refuse to believe that Graham Harrell had much input on the game plan and play calls during this game. This was the Neal Brown offense from the previous 3 seasons. The offense put up a total of 200 yards on the day, 75 of which were on a garbage time drive. The offense that looked so good last week against TCU regressed in a major way. It’s time to empty the bench and see what the young guys on the team have to offer for next season.

2. The defense - We can’t stop the run, and we definitely can’t stop the pass. Iowa State only put up 400 yards on us today because their goal is to slow down the game and limit offensive possessions for the other team. As in every game this year, receivers were running free in the secondary and running backs had gaping holes to run through.