MORGANTOWN - On Saturday, the college football spotlight shined brightly on games like Stanford-Notre Dame, Ohio State-Michigan and Oklahoma-Oklahoma State.
At Milan Puskar Stadium, well, not so much was shining. Mountaineer receiver Shelton Gibson and the host defense had big days in the Iowa State-WVU contest. But that was about it.
There was rainy weather. There was an ousted coach in Paul Rhoads capping his Iowa State stint trying fake punts like they were off-tackle runs. There was a small crowd of 42,446. There was the expected Mountaineer victory to the tune of 30-6.
But maybe, just maybe, it was the perfect way to punctuate WVU's 2015 home season. Maybe, just maybe, the seniors that played their last game on Mountaineer Field perfectly symbolized this season and the stage at which we find West Virginia's program.
WVU is scratching and clawing. It is putting everything on the table. There's simply not enough on said table to join the upper echelon of the Big 12.
This isn't the old days, when defensive coordinator Tony Gibson was here with Rich Rodriguez. Sleight of hand and a few speedsters aren't enough now, as it was within the Big East.
So what you have is WVU fighting for fifth place with Texas Tech and Texas. You have a probable Advocare V100 Texas Bowl berth - with hopes of getting to the Russell Athletic Bowl. (Losses by Baylor and Pitt, the latter a possible matchup, hurt hopes of Orlando though.)
"We got to seven wins," said WVU's Dana Holgorsen. "A lot of people didn't think we would do that. We got to seven. The seniors will remember this for a long time. It was a little blah out there and a little gray. But getting the win was huge."
It wasn't as much "huge" perhaps as necessary. Also, many thought WVU could get to seven wins this season. Yours truly picked 9-3. The Mountaineers could finish 8-4 if they win at Kansas State on Saturday.
It's simply been a struggle for the team. As it was for many of WVU's seniors.
Look at some of those leaving the Mountaineer program after this year. Jared Barber. Kyle Rose. Terrell Chestnut. Shaq Petteway. Cody Clay. K.J. Dillon. Jordan Thompson. Nick Kwiatkoski.
You know how there's no "ah" in the pronunciation of Kwiatkoski? There was no Kwit in there either. Not for him; not for the others.
"When I think of this senior class," said punter Nick O'Toole, "I think of Jared Barber, who tore up his knee. He fought through everything, like Shaq and Chestnut... They sparked enthusiasm to play hard every game."
The seniors met with Holgorsen after the TCU game and set goals.
"It's great to see everyone step up for the seniors," O'Toole said.
"It's hard to characterize the senior class because there are so many different personalities," said Dillon. "But all were hard-working."
He said at halftime Saturday that Rose "got us right with a speech."
Nice. And, no, Dillon said, he is not satisfied with the season.
"I'm happy with the turnaround [from a four-game losing streak]," he said. "But we have two more games to play. I'm happy the way the players have been playing and the way the coaches have been coaching."
Holgorsen's job certainly seems safer as the wins pile up. WVU is not LSU, where a 110-32 record isn't good enough. It is not that cut-throat of a place.
Now, have Mountaineer fans seen improvement?
That's debatable.
The Mountaineers could finish with the same Big 12 record this season as last. They could finish with the same record. Heck, they could fall to the same bowl team in Texas A&M. (Many are projecting that matchup.) One could argue the only difference between this year and last is the way the schedule fell. Plus, a lot of defensive leaders are leaving and WVU's offense isn't exactly electric.
But give Holgorsen credit for not losing this WVU team. Give the players - especially the aforementioned seniors - credit for persevering. They've played through tough times, injuries and pratfalls.
They've gotten back up. And, with two games left, they still have opportunities to stand tall.