ATHENS, Ohio -- Yes, Mountaineers fans, Saturday's outcome did happen.
So, stop pinching yourself thinking it didn't happen, and don't try and find a 1985 DeLorean to go back in time.
The Mountaineers' 17-10 loss to the Ohio Bobcats in Athens was WVU's first road loss against a Group of Five team since 2008 against East Carolina.
WVU left many opportunities on the field, including intercepting Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro three times and only netting negative-7 yards on those three drives.
WVU's offense seemed completely different compared to what we saw in Week 1.
Granted, the Mountaineers played Robert Morris, which with all due respect to the Colonials wasn't the same as Ohio.
On my drive home, I had a lot of thoughts of the seven-point loss in front of the record-setting crowd at Peden Stadium.
The offensive line needs work
I'm going to be honest. Ohio's box, especially its defensive line, seemed super effective in making things difficult for WVU's Nicco Marchiol and Jaylen Henderson, but more so Marchiol.
Marchiol finished with 178 passing yards. However, the WVU quarterback gained 24 yards on the ground, but he lost 15 yards, making him net at 9 yards.
Ohio's defense recorded seven tackles for loss and four sacks in the victory on Saturday.
In two games, the Mountaineers have allowed the opposition to total 10 tackles for loss and five sacks.
Yes, the offensive line was a topic of concern for West Virginia this season, but the Mountaineers are two games away from conference play.
They've got to find guys that can provide consistency up front to allow playmakers to produce.
Tackling issues
Time and time again, the Mountaineer defense allowed Bobcat players to slip through their arms and fingers to get more yards after the catch or run.
There were a couple of times when Navarro would seem to be trapped in the backfield. However, he turned nothing into something, which was something WVU discussed throughout the week.
Ohio's Sieh Bangura got shoved into a rugby scrum at the line of scrimmage and did the same.
Yet, he squeezed his way out of the scramble and got more yards after the run.
West Virginia will have another test next Saturday against Pitt, as the Panthers have an offensive attack with quarterback Eli Holstein and running back Desmond Reid.
Communication issues?
This is the second straight week we've seen a wide-open receiver.
We saw it last week against Robert Morris, as quarterback Zach Tanner connected with three pass-catchers for more than 10 yards.
The WVU secondary got exposed again on Saturday, as Navarro connected with Chase Hendricks for a 31-yard touchdown.
Hendricks was wide-open for Navarro's only passing touchdown on Saturday.
Pitt's Holstein has thrown for 519 yards in his first two games. So, WVU's secondary better get it together before taking on Pitt.
How much of an impact with the injuries have moving forward?
A few of WVU's key players were injured during Saturday's seven-point loss.
The most significant loss was running back Jahiem White, who was helped off the field in the second quarter.
He was later carted off the field and coach Rich Rodriguez was asked about the injury following the game.
"It didn't look good from the sidelines, but I haven't even talked to the medical staff yet," Rodriguez said.
White scored the lone touchdown for WVU, coming in the first quarter as he scored from 32 yards out.
Wide receiver Jaden Bray was also carted off the field. Linebacker Reid Carrico went out early and didn't play the rest of the game.
Perry stood out
WVU's Fred Perry was impressive for the Mountaineers defense on Saturday.
Perry recorded a game-high 10 tackles, while adding two tackles for loss and a sack.
He got into Ohio's backfield multiple times, including in back-to-back plays in the second quarter.
Perry's production against Ohio was significant after only having five tackles against Robert Morris.
