What Neal Brown Said Following the Loss to No. 17 Kansas State

West Virginia University head coach Neal Brown provides some insight on the Mountaineers loss.

West Virginia University head coach Neal Brown. / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

The West Virginia Mountaineers (3-4, 2-2) fell to the Kansas State Wildcats (6-1, 3-1) Saturday night 45-18 during homecoming weekend.

Head coach Neal Brown met with the media following the game and gave his instant analysis in the loss.

Opening statement

We got a beat up locker room. Probably the most injuries I can remember in the first half, and they just took it to us in the second half. I went for on fourth down there because I knew it was going to be a touchdown game - had a good play and we didn’t convert. And then, three of our best offensive players are out in the second half and we had a couple of d-linemen out as well and we just didn’t play very well.

Credit to them, I think their the best team in our league to this point. I haven’t seen them all but it’s a good football team.

Quarterback Garrett Greene’s two interceptions

The first interception was unfortunate, it wasn’t a great pass – got tipped. The second one, it was really a good play by them. We were in ‘empty’ and they pressure and they had shown the play ‘zero’ behind it and they bailed, and really didn’t have enough in coverage honestly, but our hot throw was in the flat and they were sitting right there.

Giving up two explosive plays, one for a touchdown.

The first one (60-yard touchdown pass), is we were in porous coverage and just got ran by. Really, by design that shouldn’t happen.

The second one on the angle route they threw to (junior running back DJ) Giddens in the third quarter, it’s a good play. It’s a really good play versus that coverage. They executed it well. We should have been able to get it down – it shouldn’t be an explosive.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Nicco Marchiol coming into the game for an injured Garrett Greene

Without watching it [on film], we weren’t real productive. Some if its on him. Its hard when you go in and you play because you don’t get the reps, and he was hurt, so he missed Tuesday’s practice. So, he had basically one workday on Wednesday and that was it. Its tough to say, we weren’t really productive in the second half, some of that was on him, some of it wasn’t.