The first half ended in a odd manner, and you thought it might matter, but then West Virginia goes double zero in the second half and loses by 30. Bad form, to say the least.

There are no coatings composed of sugar in Dana Holgorsen’s postgame review, but there remains a weird vibe about this squad: Who or what are they? Are they the 3-0 team or the 0-4 team. If you choose the latter, are they the 0-2 team on the front side of it or the 0-2 on the end of it? Or was last night’s game wholly different than the other three?

They’ve just played four of the best 12 teams in the country in succession. No Big 12 team had ever started conference play with four ranked opponents. This team isn’t good enough to manage that, but is this team that bad? The offense had chances, but it also continues to squander them. The defense has moments and even stretches still, but it also had a scout team on the field on the first series and then it got worse. You now wonder how and when it all gets better. Health? Karl Joseph is done. Terrell Chestnut won’t be right again this season. Bumps, bruises and irritations accumulate, and WVU has games on six straight Saturdays to close the season and as the weather changes. Performance? There are seven games of evidence to suggest the offense can’t do all that it wants both effectively and efficiently.

I maintain it’s ridiculous to think WVU has it easy the rest of the way now. Texas Tech can flip it around and get after WVU’s defense, and WVU’s offense isn’t good enough to match scores with the Red Raiders or to assume anything will come easy against Texas … and going 2-0 there is seemingly vital. Kansas is atrocious and Iowa State is merely 25 points better than atrocious, but, again, what’s happening at WVU isn’t happening in a direction that makes you think one or both of those will be simple. Then the finale at Kansas State could be filled with storylines affecting either side.)

The volume is rising against Holgorsen, and I do believe the exchange with Trevone Boykin — covered honestly and openly in the video above — can be manipulated to be used against him. He said other things people will arm themselves with and use against him, too. You do get a feeling things are different now, if for no other reason than that before Thursday, that volume wasn’t what it probably is now.

Consider how bad it was made to seem before this game and then count all the fans affected by the losses. Of all the people who had turned off the television when WVU lost on the road or shuffled sadly out of the stadium when the Mountaineers were beaten at home, out of everyone who had something to say about the state of the 2015 season, only two people packaged and delivered their emotions.

Ron sent his thoughts to Holgorsen and Lyons.

“Hopefully you correct the situation which I understand has an awful lot of fans and contributors upset,” he wrote.

Dustin opted for Lyons and WVU president E. Gordon Gee.

“I have never been drawn to write the university concerning these matters before,” Dustin wrote, “but I feel someone needs to show that there are many of us who stand with Coach Holgorsen and support his efforts at the university.”

The balance of their message was apropos as WVU took the field losers of three consecutive games after opening the season with three straight wins.

“I am confident Coach Holgorsen is going to not only right this ship, but take us to places we have never been to as a team,” Dustin wrote. “It may not be this season [although I believe we will make a good bowl game], but he has the chops to get the job done.”

The season arrived at its fork here. The Mountaineers had lost at least three consecutive games in each of the previous three seasons and had four other losing streaks of that length or more in that same time. It was a time to change or to continue perceptions.

“The coaching staff has been in place long enough that they have their own recruits in place and should be able to field a competitive team,” Ron wrote.

I’m traveling today and we’ll fall into the normal schedule finally and again starting Sunday with the buffet and followed by TFGD, the Taboo and the G&B.