Hey! WVU found 45 seconds of highlights!

Wednesday night was not a great one for the Mountaineers, who couldn’t get the offense and the defense on the same page at the same time and fell to Miami, which has won five straight games and seven in a row over the Mountaineers and snapped a 10-year, six-game bowl drought.

“They were ready to play,” WVU coach Dana Holgorsen said. “This meant a lot to them. I think you guys making a big deal out of the fact that they haven’t won a bowl game in 10 years didn’t do us any favors, but they were ready to play. They played well, out-coached us, out-played us on all three sides.”

After beginning the game with five consecutive three-and-outs, Miami’s offense found a first down and then found the end zone on four possessions in a row. Quarterback Brad Kaaya, who started the game 5 for 13 for 29 yards, completed 14 of 15 passes for 217 yards and touchdowns to four players in a span of 10 minutes, 26 seconds of game time.

The incomplete pass was a drop, and Miami turned a 7-0 deficit into a 28-7 lead against a defense that only allowed 28 points in three games during the regular season.

“He’s a streaky player,” WVU defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said. “That’s something you see on film when you watch them play. He gets rolling, and he’s hard to stop.”

The Mountaineers, who remain proud of their season and were duly impressed with Miami, finished with season-low totals for points, rushing yards and total yards, and perhaps that’s to be expected because it’s a bowl and a bowl in Orlando.

WVU’s last bowl here was a 23-7 loss to Russell Wilson and North Carolina State in the 2010 Champs Sports Bowl, which became the Russell Athletic Bowl two years later. That game also matched the fewest points WVU has scored in its last 14 bowls and was one of five times now when the Mountaineers didn’t reach 21.

In the past 14 bowls, WVU is 6-8 and averages 44.7 points in wins and 17.5 points in losses.

I’m up early and off to Oklahoma for Friday’s basketball game. I’ll keep an eye on the comments and interact with you as can.