(Football News - Photo Illustration/MetroCreative)

After a dominating win the previous Saturday at Oklahoma State, the stage was set for West Virginia to make a statement with undefeated and 11th-ranked Iowa State coming to town. With a Coal Rush theme and an enthusiastic capacity crowd, this was an opportunity for the big win for which fans were longing.

It all began well enough, as WVU opened the game with an impressive 14-play touchdown drive taking nearly eight minutes. The Mountaineers then had an opportunity on their next possession to take a two score lead, but two plays then changed the momentum. On third-and-2 from the Iowa State 18 a pass play for what would have been a first down inside the 10 was not cleanly made and reversed on review, and West Virginia then missed a 36-yard field goal.

The change of momentum in favor of the visitors never changed the rest of the night, as the Cyclones slowly and methodically squeezed the life out of the Mountaineers. Iowa State played mistake free football, committing no turnovers and zero offensive penalties. They were 9 of 14 on third down, and 2 for 2 on fourth, meaning that in 14 third down scenarios where there was an opportunity to get them off the field they converted a first down 11 times.

Despite that efficiency, West Virginia was still very much in the game in the third quarter as the defense had forced punts on two consecutive Iowa State possessions and the Mountaineers had the ball trailing 14-10 with chances to retake the lead. But that is where things began to unwind.

On the first second half possession WVU had moved the ball to near midfield facing second-and-5, when a negative play occurred when Garrett Greene bobbled a bad center snap, forcing a third and long which the Mountaineers weren’t able to convert. Then on the next possession a promising drive into Iowa State territory ended with an interception. The Cyclones then drove 65 yards for a touchdown to take control. Yet another interception ensued on the next possession and the outcome was no longer in doubt.

The bad center snap was not an isolated misplay. It occurred at least 15 times or so during the game, which on many occasions threw off the timing of a play. Greene looked like a good major league shortstop fielding the errant snaps except for the one bobble. This failure of basic execution of the center snap was apparent to observers throughout the night but was never corrected.

THIS SATURDAY: A new opportunity presents itself this Saturday as a ranked Kansas State squad comes to Morgantown for another Saturday night affair. The Wildcats are 5-1 on the season, coming off a barnburner 31-28 win at Colorado. This matchup will likely define how the second half the season will play out. The Mountaineers sometimes bounce back after a poor performance, but they continue to struggle against quality opposition. Will that change?

KANSAS STATE 27, WEST VIRGINIA 24.