With nonconference play wrapped, West Virginia must address ominous trends in secondary

There are plenty of ways to demonstrate toughness on the gridiron: mentally, physically, individually and positionally.

In the 107th Backyard Brawl on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium, the West Virginia Mountaineers checked many, if not all, of those boxes.

That was, at least, until the final 3 minutes, 8 seconds of the game.

Over those final 188 seconds, West Virginia went from leading by 10 and in control to collapsing in epic fashion, resulting in a stinging 38-34 defeat to Pitt.

In doing so, a resilient performance by quarterback Garrett Greene, strong team run defense and West Virginia battling back from a Panthers’ blocked punt touchdown return all were overshadowed by poor play by the secondary.

West Virginia’s pass defense, porous through the first two games of the year vs. No. 8 Penn State and Albany, crumbled late, letting up a 40-yard Panthers touchdown pass with 3:08 remaining to bring Pitt within seven points.

West Virginia allowed 301 passing yards (of the Panthers’ 379 total yards) and three touchdowns Saturday.

Penn State passed for 216 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1, and the FCS Albany Great Danes managed 306 yards through the air last weekend.

“Let’s just say what it is — we did not cover the pass very good,” coach Neal Brown said postgame. “… When it happens three weeks in a row, it kind of is what it is. We’ve got to make some changes and some corrections.”

Pitt’s late touchdown pass to Daejon Reynolds came on second-and-30, after the Panthers had been pushed back following two straight holding calls.

Daejon Reynolds ladies and gentlemen‼️

And the Panther defense follows up the TD with a STOP ????

???? ESPN2#H2P » #WeNotMe pic.twitter.com/q8sMaPxknO

— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) September 14, 2024

The Mountaineers’ offense sputtered on their ensuing possession, handing the ball back to Pitt with 1:59 left.

They then allowed explosive plays of 17, 23 and 17 yards in just 36 seconds, two of which were through the air, putting the Panthers at the 13-yard line with 51 seconds remaining.

“There’s nothing I can say up here — it is what it is. We didn’t cover,” Brown said. “Not fired up about it.”

West Virginia’s brutal collapse spoiled many positives for the Mountaineers.

Until the end of the game, Brown couldn’t have asked for much more from his front seven, which racked up a season-high five sacks and had 11 tackles for loss on the night.

Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein hurt West Virginia with his legs late, but the Panthers only rushed for 78 yards on 29 tries, a 2.7 yards-per-carry average.

Greene battled through a few late hits out of bounds — not all of which were flagged — in addition to a targeting call in the fourth quarter, when Pitt’s Isaiah Neal was ejected.

The Mountaineers rushed for 191 yards, powered by the trio of Greene plus tailbacks CJ Donaldson and Jahiem White.

Brown and his staff return to Morgantown to do a deep dive on what’s plaguing their secondary.

“It’s tough until you go back and watch the film to really assess,” Brown said. “It’s easy looking at the stat sheet to say, (crap), they threw for (301) — that ain’t very good. It felt really bad watching it on the sideline. But, until you go back and watch it, it’s really hard to assess the personnel.

“You are what you are. Our personnel is our personnel. We’ve got to play better; we’ve got to coach them better. But it’s not like we’ve got people waiting in the bullpen.”

After a disappointing conclusion to nonconference play, Brown will attempt to get his team ready for Big 12 play, starting with a visit from Kansas on Saturday.

“You’re 1-2. That’s what it is,” Brown said. “We’ve earned that. That’s what we are. We’re 1-2, and we didn’t execute in the last five minutes of the game. Now we’ve got nine conference games, and our league’s really good. The truth of it is they’re all going to be games like we played today. We’ve got to figure out ways to win.

“This isn’t over by any means. We’re going to fight our tail off.”