West Virginia football coach Neal Brown was brutally honest in his assessment after the Mountaineers got crushed by Penn State 34-12 in the season opener.
Brown expressed his disappointment in the postgame press conference, and said, “So to say I am disappointed in how we played would be an understatement. We played really poorly, and it was on a big stage. We are very aware of that, and we played poorly. It starts with me. I am the head coach, and I am responsible for it.”
It was a deflating opener for the Mountaineers (0-1), who at times were sloppy and never led. The Nittany Lions (1-0) had some sloppiness of their own but shed that by the second quarterback and unveiled a new big-play element to their offense that frustrated the Mountaineers.
WVU quarterback Garrett Greene avoided interceptions but only threw for 161 yards and no touchdowns. The Mountaineers got their only touchdown out of running back C.J. Donaldson, who also led WVU with 42 rushing yards.
Also hurting WVU were three turnovers, two additional fumbles and a terrible third-down conversion rate.
A Historic Opportunity Ends With a Dud
The game was significant in the context of this series. Penn State had a massive lead in the series, 49-9-2. The Nittany Lions owned a 17-6-1 edge in Morgantown. At No. 8 in the nation, Penn State represented the highest-ranked opponent the Mountaineers had faced in a home season opener since No. 1 Ohio State on Sept. 5, 1998.
This was an opportunity for the Big 12 Conference to solidify itself with a massive win in a new era without Oklahoma and Texas. It was one of the best non-conference match ups for the entire Big 12 Conference. But clearly, WVU was not up to the task.
The Mountaineers will try to get back on track next week when they host Albany. That will be followed up by the Backyard Brawl vs. Pittsburgh on the road.
