West Virginia Mountaineer fans have had plenty of days to cheer over the past decade or so. Over the past 24 hours or so ... not so much. On Saturday, when the team traveled to Maryland to take on the Terrapins, they were embarrassed, falling by a score of 37-0.
West Virginia’s loss to Maryland arguably its worst on paper since 1914
The Mountaineers have suffered more important losses, but as far as the numbers go, this was as bad as it gets. That 70-point Orange Bowl feels like a long, long time ago.
The final outcome could’ve been even worse if Maryland didn’t let up in the second half. It was 30-0 by halftime, and the coaching staff elected to just run the clock during the final two quarters. As a team, West Virginia surrendered 330 yards of total offense.
That isn’t that bad, but when your offense only picked up 175 total yards, it’s just about impossible to stay competitive. That’s 175 yards for an offense that put up 778 and 807 in two games last year.
The Mountaineers turned the ball over six times. Quarterback Ford Childress completed just 11 passes for 62 yards. Other than wide receiver Charles Sims, no player had more than one reception for WVU. Other than two big runs by Dreamius Smith and Wendell Smallwood that totaled 81 yards, the 'Eers can 23 times for 32 yards.
And Smoking Musket says it goes far beyond just numbers:
Childress looked laughably overmatched the entire game. He consistently was soft on his passes and slow on his handoffs and a couple times seemed unsure as to what play was being run. The shots down-field were never even close, and the screens were too soft to get to receivers in time to make a play effective. Things took forever to develop, and when they did, yielded nothing. Most egregious of his errors were a pick-six that resulted from a soft toss on an out route and a tipped ball that was intercepted by the Terps at the WVU 6 right before the half. The double gut shots resulted in 14 UM points.
“We could’ve had Peyton Manning back there,” head coach Dana Holgorsen said after the game. “If you’re not able to get any yards in the run game, you’re not able to set your feet and throw it down field. I mean, he didn’t have a chance.”
Some facts that might not be so fun for Mountaineer fans:
West Virginia finishes w/6 turnovers & 6 first downs. Shut out for first time in 168 games. Maryland 37-0
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) September 21, 2013
Will lose, 37-0. This will go down as a dark, dark day for WVU football. RT @Carvelli3: #WVU: 6 turnovers, 6 first downs.
— David Ubben (@davidubben) September 21, 2013
To those in my mentions saying today's #WVU loss is worse than the Pitt loss in 2007: Slow your roll. Perspective will come in time.
— David Ubben (@davidubben) September 21, 2013
A reminder: on 10/7/2012, #WVU was 5-0, coming off a win at Texas and No. 5 in the AP Top 25. Since then, 3-8 record vs. FBS teams.
— Patrick Southern (@patricksouthern) September 21, 2013
In 2011, it took West Virginia 11 plays to get 100 YARDS vs. Maryland. Same thing in 2012. It took 37 plays to do the same today.
— Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse) September 21, 2013
This is the most points #WVU has allowed in a shutout loss since a 48-0 loss to Washington & Jefferson in 1914.
— Patrick Southern (@patricksouthern) September 21, 2013
This tweet from Maryland’s official account takes the cake, though.
🐢>🗻
— Maryland Athletics (@umterps) September 21, 2013
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