MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia had relatively good luck with injuries in the first half of the 2024 regular season.

That changed Saturday night in the Mountaineers’ Game 7, when quarterback Garrett Greene, running back Jahiem White and left tackle Wyatt Milum were all forced to sit out the second half of a 45-18 loss to No. 17 Kansas State.

“A series of head injuries, actually,” WVU head coach Neal Brown said. “Four of them in total. I didn’t talk to (Vincent Blankenship), our coach, because he was so busy after the game. I usually try to talk to him before I come here, but he was tied up.”

Milum, widely considered the team’s best player and a potential first- or second-rounder in next year’s NFL Draft, missed West Virginia’s final series in the first half and was replaced by Johnny Williams from that point on. White didn’t touch the ball on the final series of the first half after three previous possessions.

Greene lasted through the first half, but Brown suspected his injury occurred on the team’s final possession of the first half, which ended with West Virginia’s lead signal-caller throwing an incomplete pass toward tight end Kole Taylor on fourth-and-1 the Wildcats’ 3-yard line. The Wildcats led 17-10 at the time and scored 21 unanswered points early in the second half.

“They put us under pressure but somehow fell behind. Kole is open. I don’t know if Garrett didn’t see him,” Brown said. “I also don’t know when Garrett was injured during that drive because he missed a few things that were out of character. I don’t know when he was injured. Of course I can’t find out tonight, but I’ll find out. “It was a crucial play, but even if we tie the game, I’m not sure we’ll have enough reserves in the second half, even if it’s 17-17.”

Had the trio of key offensive players been able to play in the second half, they would have faced a 14-point deficit on the first series of the third quarter after Kansas State marched 74 yards and scored a touchdown early in the third quarter.

Instead, the Mountaineers had to try to bring in backup quarterback Nicco Marchiol, without their most productive offensive lineman and without White, who entered the contest with a team-high 398 rushing yards.

WVU’s first two series of the second half yielded 26 yards on 11 plays and no points. The first ended with a punt, while the second ended with Marchiol’s incomplete pass on 4th-and-5 from the Wildcats’ 37th.

When the Mountaineers (3-4, 2-2) scored their only touchdown of the second half, it was far too little, too late, as they had faced a 28-point fourth-quarter deficit earlier in this series.

Marchiol did not train on Tuesday due to injury, but returned to the field on Wednesday.

“We weren’t really productive in the second half,” Brown said. “Some of it was up to him, some of it wasn’t.”

WVU’s defense also suffered several significant injuries after entering the contest short-handed.

Safety Aubrey Burks and cornerback Ayden Garnes, two starters in the secondary, did not dress.

Defensive lineman TJ Jackson, the team leader in sacks and tackles for loss, was limited to 12 snaps after recovering from injury and left the game for good in the second half due to injury.

Defensive lineman Hammond Russell also entered the game with an injury and left in the second half.

“We played K-State, which is really physical, and Iowa State, which is really physical,” Brown said. “Two of the more physical teams in the country.

“It’s not like we’re playing some of these space games. This is a hard man. I’m very careful about ever criticizing our players. This is a tough game. I would be very careful about criticizing 17, 22 and 23 year olds who are putting their bodies on the line. You can criticize me. That’s okay. I’m not backing down from this. I am responsible for this. We underperformed but I would be really cautious about challenging them simply because the game is so physical. These guys are putting their bodies at risk and we did some damage tonight.”