MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - That buzz saw that visited West Virginia in prior losses this season to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State returned in the second quarter of Wednesday night’s 31-14 Russell Athletic Bowl defeat against Miami.

 

Before Ahmmon Richards took Brad Kaaya’s short pass and turned it into a 51-yard touchdown, nothing Miami attempted to do offensively worked.

 

The Hurricanes’ first possession at the WVU 48 following a Skyler Howard fumble went backwards eight yards.

 

The second time Miami got the ball the drive ended after just a three-yard advancement.

 

Miami’s third possession resulted in three plays and six yards.

 

Possession No. 4 netted nine yards in three plays.

 

The fifth time the Hurricane offense had the football they managed another three yards before punting.

 

Miami’s initial first down of the game came on a West Virginia interception that wasn’t. Kaaya, under heavy pressure, threw a wounded duck straight up into the air that WVU backup safety Toyous Avery intercepted and returned 15 yards to midfield.

 

But the back judge called Avery for pass interference and instead of West Virginia having the football at midfield, Miami retained possession and eventually was able to pin WVU back at its own four-yard line with Justin Vogel’s 45-yard punt.

 

WVU again couldn’t move the ball once again against Miami’s stout defense and punted it back to the Hurricanes at midfield.

 

There, Kaaya threw a simple quick pass to Richards, who made a quick cut to the inside and out-ran the entire West Virginia defense for a 51-yard touchdown to tie the game at seven.

 

“They caught a pass, we missed some tackles and their kid made a play and they got momentum,” West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson explained. “We got on our heels a little bit.”

 

In the 21 prior plays before Richards’ touchdown, Miami had netted only 31 total yards. In the next 12 they got 184 in a span of only 6 ½ minutes to turn a tight game upside down.

 

By halftime, the score was 21-7 with Miami making plans to receive the football at the beginning of the second half.

 

“I’ve never been a part of a game where there were five three-and-outs to start it and then five straight scoring drives,” said Gibson.

 

Once the Hurricanes got the ball to begin the third quarter, they were the beneficiaries of another pass interference call - a repeat of the play that happened in the second quarter … Kaaya throwing an up-for-grabs pass that Avery intercepted and returned 36 yards to the Hurricane 44.

 

But again, Avery was called for pass interference while jostling with Christopher Herndon IV for a 50-50 ball. Instead of West Virginia’s offense taking the field in Miami territory, the Hurricanes had another fresh set of downs at the UM 43.

 

“The first one I didn’t really see it but the second one I will let you guys talk about it,” said Gibson. “I don’t feel like getting fined.”

 

Five Kaaya passes later, he hooked up with talented tight end David Njoku out in the flat where he got out of the grasp of safety Jarrod Harper and ran 23 yards for a touchdown.

 

“A lot of plays we lost leverage,” junior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton noted. “Some guys didn’t do their job, whether it be me, one of the safeties or whoever it was. A couple of plays guys were unable to do their jobs and that led to big plays. For the guys that are coming back, we’ve got to make sure where things went wrong and be able to correct those things.”

 

In a span of 22 plays consuming less than 10 minutes of actual game time, Miami had turned a closely contested, tight football game into a rout.

 

“If you want to win a game like this you have to play well all four quarters,” West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said afterward. “We didn’t play well in the second quarter and that turned out to be the difference.”

 

WVU’s other two losses this season against the state of Oklahoma followed a similar script.

 

After some pregame midfield gamesmanship at Milan Puskar Stadium, Oklahoma started the contest like it was shot out of a cannon, the Sooners scoring 21 quick points in the first quarter and building a 34-point lead early in the second before West Virginia could even get its feet on the ground.

 

Oklahoma rolled to a 56-28 victory.

 

A month before that, Oklahoma State seized upon a couple of West Virginia second-quarter miscues to turn a 10-6 deficit into a 20-10 halftime lead.

 

More Mountaineer mistakes in the fourth quarter led to another 10-point Cowboy flurry and a 17-point victory for OSU.

 

Take away those four really bad quarters - the second at Oklahoma State, the first two against Oklahoma and the second against Miami - and 2016 could have been an entirely different football season.

 

Those four quarters accounted for 69 of the 312 total points West Virginia allowed this year.

 

But, of course, the four bad quarters are part of the total deal.

 

As a result, instead of a really special season for West Virginia, the Mountaineers have to settle with a really good one - 10 victories for just the ninth time ever, another top 25 finish when the final polls come out following the national championship game, and continued continuity with the current coaching staff locked up with new contracts for the coming years.

 

That is what Holgorsen is going to sell to recruits when he hits the road in January - a message he already delivered to the fans during his postgame news conference.

 

“We got beat by a good football team,” he said. “I’m not going to allow it to be a negative. There were 21 seniors and their legacy is this is the best football team that West Virginia has had in the five years that we’ve been in the Big 12. We have a lot to be proud of.

 

“Ten wins, that doesn’t happen very often. It’s rare,” he continued. “We’re disappointed that we didn’t get to 11. Our fan base is disappointed. Our coaches are disappointed. Our players are disappointed but we’re going to hold our heads high and understand that we had a fantastic football season.”

 

And that’s the message Holgorsen’s returning players are taking away from Wednesday’s defeat as well.

 

“Every game you want to put it behind you and move on to the next one,” said Benton. “This one hurts as much for me because of the fact that these seniors have to walk off the field without a W for their last time putting on the Blue and Gold. That’s heartbreaking for me. I have another opportunity to play but those guys don’t. I will be able to get past this but those guys won’t.”

 

If there is any solace for those 21 seniors it is this - take away four really bad quarters (out of 52) and 2016 could have been a season for the ages.