A Week to Clean Things Up for WVU

Jarret Doege and the West Virginia offense had their share of struggles in the Mountaineers’ 30-24 loss to Maryland on Saturday afternoon.

At the half, WVU had a 21-20 lead thanks to running back Leddie Brown, who scored three first-half touchdowns. However, that was about the extent of the offense the Mountaineers could muster.

In the second half, Doege’s struggles were evident. He finished just 24 for 40 for 277 yards.

The senior quarterback’s two interceptions were costly, especially the red zone pick in the fourth quarter when his team needed points.

Also, WVU had two detrimental miscues when Leddie Brown fumbled late in the third quarter and Winston Wright Jr. muffed a punt.

“On the punt muff, I tried to make a move before I got the ball,” Wright said."A little mistake turned into a turnover.”

Over four quarters, the Mountaineers’ rushing game picked up just 48 yards on 22 rushes for a 1.8-yard-per-carry average while Doege was sacked three times for a loss of 27 yards.

“The biggest statistic in football that tells whether you win or lose is turnovers,” WVU head coach Neal Brown said. “We had four that went directly for 10 points. And they had zero. And if you don’t turn the ball over, you usually win. It’s not overly complicated.”

Doege struggled with the Terrapins' heavy pressure. On the Mountaineers' second drive of the game, Doege took back-to-back sacks. One of his picks came after being flushed from the pocket to his right.

The 6-foot-2, 208-pound playmaker failed to miss open receivers when WVU needed yards the most.

“What didn’t work was the deep ball as you seen,” Wright Jr. said. “The db’s played us good. We just needed to make plays and we didn’t.

For the Mountaineers, they have a lot to fix in a week, as Long Island-Brooklyn comes to Morgantown next Saturday for the home opener. Kickoff is at 5 p.m. at Milan Puskar Stadium.