WVU football lost a tightly-fought 25-23 showdown with Arizona State on Saturday that officially knocked the Mountaineers out of bowl eligibility with one game left to play. But things didn't have to end that way.
No, this was one of those games where you could say the Mountaineers beat themselves. Of course, the Sun Devils had to play a role in it, to be on the field to get the stops. But it was the Mountaineers failing to take advantage of multiple scoring opportunities that cost them the game.
First, you have a 4th & 2 at the Arizona State 6-yard line at the end of the first quarter. The Mountaineers were leading 3-0 and had gotten to 2 & 4 on the 8-yard line, but got held to just two rushing yards on the next to rushing attempts to bring about fourth down. Instead of kicking a field goal for three points (keep in mind, WVU lost by just two points), Rich Rodriguez opted to go for it. A Scotty Fox Jr. rollout pass went incomplete after he missed an open tight end in the endzone – freshman mistakes – and the rest of the defense's coverage held.
Then comes the third quarter. The Mountaineers have the ball with a 1st & Goal at the Arizona State 4-yard line. The next three plays? A run that's stopped one yard behind the line of scrimmage, an incomplete pass, and a three-yard run. Facing 4th & Goal from the 2-yard line, Rodriguez passes once more on a potential three-point swing with a field goal (remember, the game was decided by two points). Needing just two yards to get the touchdown, the Mountaineers trying to run it up the gut...and got just one yard and turned the ball over on downs once again. Ballcarrier Curtis Jones Jr. attempted to stretch across the goal line for the score as he fell, but his own right tackle Ty'Kieast Crawford got in the way.
But then the Mountaineers rallied, scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns to go ahead 23-22 with the point after attempt still to come. Realizing that two points would separate the two teams by a field goal, Rodriguez went for a two-point conversion after the score. The play call? Another hand-off...which was stopped behind the line of scrimmage, leaving it a one-point game.
"You got to be able to run the ball this far to win the game. And you got about seven opportunities to do it and you don’t do it. You can't run for 68 yards – it’s embarrassing," Rodriguez said after the game.
The Mountaineers still had a fourth-quarter lead, but you know what comes next based on the result of the game. Arizona State drives down the field and kicks a field goal to take the two-point lead. WVU's unable to make magic happen on their final drive, and the Sun Devils escape with a two-point win. The Mountaineers had the opportunity to score six points with field goals – enough the pout the game out of reach with a field goal for Arizona State at the end – but passed them up in favor of failed fourth-down touchdown attempts.
They only needed a combined six yards on those two fourth downs to add two touchdowns to the scoreboard and completely change the game. They were unable to make that happen, either. And finally, if they could get just two yards on a two-point conversion late, the Sun Devils would have been forced to go for a touchdown, or settle for overtime with the field goal they kicked. And once again, the opportunity was missed.
Missed opportunities were the story on Saturday, and they will haunt this team when it comes time for bowl season and they're sitting at home if they manage to upset Texas Tech in two weeks to close the season. But those are also experiences teams and coaches learn from, and when the Mountaineers face similar situations in the future, these are opportunities they'll know how to better take advantage of.