Sunday Morning Thoughts: The Little Things Can Cost You a Game

The first thing most folks point to in a loss is the explosive plays that resulted in a touchdown or a flag being thrown/not thrown on a certain play. But oftentimes, it's the things that don't stick out like a sore thumb at the moment that end up beating you. That was the case for West Virginia on Saturday in Tempe.

Starting in the first half, and the two fourth down conversion attempts. I have zero problem going for either one of them. I've seen a ton of comments saying, "They should have just taken the points and they would have won the game."

That's not necessarily a guarantee. The entire complexion of the game changes when there's a score, and field position is impacted. Everything that played out after the turnover on downs isn't going to play out exactly the same with a kickoff and score being different.

When you're an offense that has struggled to score for the majority of the year and has lost the field position battle seemingly all season, you go for it. You're 4-6, you have nothing to lose. Worst-case scenario is you don't get it, and you have Arizona State pinned inside their own six, and you trust that your defense doesn't give up a 94-yard scoring drive.

That, right there, is the problem in that sequence, not that you went for it and didn't get it.

There were two other sequences that showed WVU's lack of discipline, but didn't come back to bite them. Following a dropped pass on third down by Jeff Weimer that allowed ASU to hold onto their final timeout before the half, Keyshawn Robinson was flagged for kick catch interference, giving the Sun Devils an extra 15 yards of field position. Nothing came of it, but they played with fire there.

The other was Fred Perry gifting Arizona State a free 30 yards on two personal foul penalties. The first one may have been a bit of a sell job by the Sun Devil receiver, but still, the play was over, the ref is standing right there, and you extend your arms. Can't happen. The suplex tackle was totally unnecessary and happened just a few plays later. Playing the game physically and with passion is one thing, but letting emotions get to you is another. Fortunately for the Mountaineers, that drive ended with Perry redeeming himself by helping stuff an ASU fourth down attempt.

Arguably, the biggest gripe I had with Saturday's game, believe it or not, was the use of timeouts in the second half.

The first was used before the second fourth down attempt inside the five. Then, they had to burn one on that fourth down attempt by ASU because guys were scrambling to get set and weren't lined up, so that's on the staff. Another timeout was burned following Cyncir Bowers' 90-yard touchdown on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt. Scotty Fox was jumping and hollering, trying to get a play-call in from the sideline, and didn't get it in time, so they had to burn through another.

If West Virginia didn't hold Arizona State to a field goal around the two-minute mark, there's a good chance they never get the ball back. When you're a team that clearly has a talent disadvantage, the "little stuff" can't happen in bunches like it did on Saturday. Add on that WVU only managed to run the ball for 1.7 yards per carry, and you see why Rich Rodriguez believes this team didn't deserve to win the game.

As disappointing a loss as it was for WVU, they once again showed fight and competed for four quarters, which is a far cry from where this group was a month ago. That's four straight weeks of competitive football. Let's see if they can end the season doing the same against a supremely talented Texas Tech squad in two weeks.

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