Jarret Doege's Big Plays are the Difference

Jarrett Doege's three touchdowns came in crucial moments

Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Manhattan, KS – West Virginia head coach Neal Brown was searching for answers for a Mountaineer offense that ranks near the bottom of every offensive statistical category. 

In an effort to make his team watchable again, Brown handed the keys of the offense to Jarret Doege in replace of starter Austin Kendall.

“A week ago, basically went 60-40 reps. Kendall got 60 of it and Doege went 40. We basically flipped that this week,” said Brown. "We made the decision on Tuesday to flip that. We wanted to see how it would go during the week that why we didn’t make an announcement or anything. Doege handled the week really well.”

“My first thoughts were 'take it as another game. I’ve done this before and prepare like I always prepare’,” said Doege.

Not even two minutes into the game, West Virginia was already down 7-0. Doege and the Mountaineer offense started the game with a three-and-out, then on K-State’s first offensive play, Skylar Thompson and Dalton Schoen hooked up for a 68-yard touchdown pass. 

West Virginia didn’t necessarily have to score on the following drive, but it needed to show a pulse before the game was out of reach. 

Luckily, the Mountaineers' second drive sparked life into West Virginia's offense.

The running game was effective early with Kennedy McKoy toting the rock before Doege fired it over the middle right into the chest of George Campbell as he churned his legs and backpedaled for another 13 yards for a 32-yard toss and catch.

After an eight-yard completion to Isaiah Isdale got the Mountaineers inside the red zone at the K-State 14-yard line, the self-infliction that’s plagued this team all year showed up. A false start pushed them back five yards and a dropped pass had West Virginia facing a third-and-seven.

However, Doege took the snap, stood tall in the pocket and dropped a dime over two defenders in the back of the endzone to Campbell in stride. The beauty of the play was Campbell beating his guy off the line from the slot, and as soon as Doege recognized it, he let it fly for Campbell to run under it for the 29-yard touchdown pass.

On West Virginia’s ensuing drive, the Mountaineers were trailing 10-7. It was a heavy dose of McKoy for four carries and 26 yards and a reception for nine before Leddie Brown got them inside the red zone on a three-yard carry. A dropped pass and a missed blitz assignment resulted in a fourth-and-15. But, Kansas State’s Trey Dishon commits a personal foul - making contact the center as the ball was snapped – giving the Mountaineers a first down at the 12.

A three-yard loss on first down and an incomplete pass due to pressure on second down gave West Virginia another third-and-long inside the red zone. Doege took the snap, stepped back and then moved up in the pocket, buying some time and delivered a rocket into the belly of Campbell at the four as he broke a tackle and took it in for his second score.

Kansas State came out at halftime trailing 14-13 and they made a statement driving 70 yards in seven minutes on 12 plays to take a 20-14 lead.

West Virginia followed it up with a three and out, but the defense got back off the field just five plays later and the Mountaineers took over at its own 37.

Unfortunately, West Virginia couldn't muster the same success on the ground in the second half as it did in the first. The Mountaineers were facing a third-and-six and possibly a consecutive three-and-out when Doege stayed patient in the pocket, worked through his progressions and found Ali Jennings on a shallow drag as he turned it up-field for a 13-yard gain and a first down.

Later, on second-and-thirteen, Doege provided another strike to George Campbell – placing it over the head of the linebacker and in front of the safety as Campbell hauled it in.

The drive was killed by two holding penalties, but freshman Casey Legg split the uprights from 51-yards out to get the Mountaineers within three.

The defense again stepped up big holding the Wildcats to a three-and-out and a 28-yard punt gave the Mountaineers excellent field position at midfield.

Pass interference got West Virginia inside Kansas State territory to the 38. but after giving up a sack, a one-yard loss on a carry from Leddie Brown accompanied by a false start, West Virginia found itself in yet another third-and-forever situation.

Doege again went back to pass, as he felt the pressure coming in around him, he stepped up, scrambled left and while a defender was bearing down, he found Bryce Wheaton wide-open behind the defense. Doege planted his feet and got the ball to Wheaton at the 13 and he ran it into the endzone unimpeded to give West Virginia the game ending 24-20 lead with 11:27 to play.

“He’s got big-time courage… He knew he was going to get hit... he got smoked and he knew it and stepped up and made the play," boasted Brown.

The Mountaineer defense came up big not allowing Kansas State to score in the final 20-plus minutes of the game before a Hakeem Bailey interception sealed the win for West Virginia.

Of course, it’s natural to compare the two quarterbacks. There were so many offensive deficiencies it was hard to just place the blame all on Austin Kendall.

Yes, the running game appeared to be better. Nonetheless, after rushing for 77 yards in the first half, the Mountaineers only gained eight yards in the second half.

Yet lost amidst the win, it's still important to note that Kendall was not the only reason for the Mountaineers' struggles on offense.

“Our struggles offensively haven’t been because of him (Kendall)," explained Brown. "He may not have played as well as he can, but hadn’t played poorly. He wasn’t the reason we were losing… I just felt like we’d lost five in a row and we needed a change-up. Jarrett had practiced well, so we made the decision.”

West Virginia didn’t light up the stat sheet by any means, but the key stat was in the red zone. Last week, the Mountaineers were 2-5 inside the red zone and the only touchdown came during mop-up time, coincidentally while Doege was in the game. This week's two touchdowns inside the 20 - on third-and-long, actually - was the difference-maker.

Doege's performance was steady, reliable and a stark contrast from the status quo. And though it was his first start in a West Virginia uniform, it was Doege's demeanor that Brown like the most. 

“I thought he was really calm," Brown said. "He managed the game well as far as when knowing when to take chances and when not take chances. I thought he took care of the ball well.”

Jarrett Doege has two more games he can play in before he loses his redshirt - a home game against top-25 Oklahoma State and an away contest against Texas Christian. 

If West Virginia wins its final two games of the regular season, Brown and Co. will have themselves an interesting situation on their hands. 

Naturally, if the Mountaineers make it to a bowl game, Brown won't elect to play Doege in order to win a lower tier bowl. Instead, Kendall would take over the starting duties while West Virginia determines who to play the following season.