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AMES, Iowa -- West Virginia assistant coach/now-coordinator Tony Gibson has long been known for being a man of few words.
And, Saturday night was no different following No. 6 WVU's 30-14 loss to an unranked Iowa State team at Jack Trice Stadium.
"We took a butt whipping," Gibson said simply. "They executed, and we didn't."
Especially disappointing to Gibson was his unit's inability to stop ISU's junior running back David Montgomery, who finished with 189 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries.
"I thought we did a poor job of tackling number 32 (Montgomery)," Gibson said. "He was running hard, but we left our feet too much. He's a great back. He makes you miss. That was kind of the story of the night."
But, when Montgomery wasn't running over, through and around the Mountaineers' prevent unit, true freshman quarterback Brock Purdy was lighting up WVU's secondary.
"Their quarterback kept plays alive and that wide receiver (Hakeem Butler) is really good," Gibson said. We didn't get pressure on the quarterback and he (Butler) was catching everything thrown in his direction. Everything that could go bad, did."
Which wasn't the case on the Cyclones' first two drives.
"I'll give you the rundown of the game in my mind," Gibson said.
"We were on our heals early. Well, not actually, we played a three and out and then we got that pick. So, we played four snaps and were rolling.
"Then, I don't know, maybe we thought this was going to be easy. They came out and made some plays, but then I thought we settled down."
Not only settled down but made a huge play late in the first half which pulled the visitors back into the contest.
"Obviously, the field goal block was huge. It got us back to within 20-14 and I thought the momentum was back on our side. I thought we hung in there for a while, but when you start losing guys -- that's kind of been the story for our defense over the years. We just can't keep guys healthy."
And, as Mountaineers headed toward the sideline the Cyclones stepped up offensively and, like Gibson said, "It is what it is".
But, just how bad was it?
Well, Montgomery's rushing total (189 yards) was 37 yards more than WVU's total yards gained and the Cyclones' 244 rushing yards was the most surrendered by the defense this season.
"I thought our kids fought and didn't quit," Gibson said. "I thought we were physical at times. But, it looked bad from where I was at."
West Virginia will take the next weekend off and will use the time to heal and prepare for its next opponent, Baylor.
That game is slated for a 7 p.m. start on Thursday, Oct. 25th, at Milan Puskar Stadium.
In other game notes:
∫ Redshirt senior Dravon Askew-Henry's interception in the first half was his second of the season and team-leading sixth of his career.
∫ Senior receiver David Sills V caught an 18-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, marking is seventh of the season and 27th of his career.
∫ Redshirt senior defensive lineman Kenny Bigelow Jr.'s blocked field goal in the second quarter was the first recorded by WVU since Nov. 12, 2016 (Texas).
∫ Sophomore Derrek Pitts Jr.'s 72-yard return of the blocked punt was the first for WVU since Oct. 15, 1994 at Pitt (Harold Kidd).