Ranking Will Grier's Five Greatest Games at West Virginia

West Virginia football legendary quarterback Will Grier announced his retirement from football on Wednesday after spending over seven years in the National Football League.

Although it’s been nearly a decade since he last suited up in the Old Gold and Blue, sometimes it feels like yesterday that he was slinging the ball around, putting up gaudy numbers on a weekly basis in Dana Hogerson’s offense.

In honor of his retirement, I ranked what I believe to be the best five performances of his career as a Mountaineer.

No. 5: September 3rd, 2017 vs. No. 21 Virginia Tech

Sep 3, 2017; Landover, MD, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Will Grier (7) in action during the second half against the Virginia Tech Hokies at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

I know it resulted in a loss, but when you really think about the individual performance by Grier, it was pretty remarkable when you consider it was his first game in over a year and a half. He showed some rust early in the game, but once he got settled in, he cooked up the Virginia Tech secondary, providing a ton of optimism for the future at the time.

He ended the day completing 31/53 passes for 371 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 52 yards (career high at WVU) on 11 carries. One of the best throws he made as a Mountaineer came in this game on that strike to Gary Jennings over the middle of the field for a 60-yard touchdown.

No. 4: September 1st, 2018 vs. Tennessee

This game set the tone for what would eventually be an entertaining season where the Mountaineers spent a ton of time inside the top 25 and even the top 10. It was a homecoming game for Grier, who grew up in Davidson, North Carolina, which is just north of Charlotte. All off-season long, WVU pushed the "Grier for Heisman" campaign, and he opened it up with a bang, tossing for 429 yards and five touchdowns in a 40-14 route of Tennessee. While the Volunteers were entering a rebuild, it was still one hell of a performance against an SEC team to open the season at a neutral site.

No. 3: November 23rd, 2018 vs. No. 6 Oklahoma

Nov 23, 2018; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Will Grier (7) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Oklahoma Sooners at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

Yes, I know, I know. I’m sure a lot of you are saying that Grier is the reason why West Virginia lost this game, and I’ve heard that narrative way too often over the years. I am not giving Grier a pass for the two fumbles that resulted in touchdowns, but at some point, your defense has to do its job and get off the field.

Even without those two scores happening, West Virginia’s defense gave up 45 points. They had a chance to get off the field at the end of the game and give the ball back to Grier, but they gave Kyler Murray too much time to find his man to move the sticks and put the game on ice.

It may have been in a losing effort, but it was one of the most impressive passing performances we’ve ever seen in Morgantown, going for 539 yards and four touchdowns.

No. 2: October 14th, 2017 vs. No. 24 Texas Tech

At one point during the third quarter of this game, it looked like the Mountaineers were going to get blown out on their own field. Grier came up with some big-time throws in this one, including a beautiful 32-yard bomb to Ka’Raun White that went for six, and then threaded the needle on a two-point conversion to David Sills to get the game back within three.

He threw another touchdown to White to take the lead and then hit Sills for a score to make it a two-possession game, ultimately putting it out of reach for the Red Raiders. This would end up being the second-largest comeback in program history, with the 34-33 win over Maryland in 1992 being the only one that had a larger deficit (19 points).

No. 1: November 3rd, 2018 @ No. 17 Texas

Will Grier — WVU Athletics Communications

Was there ever any doubt?

Not only was this the best game of Grier‘s career, but it was one of the most unreal finishes in the history of WVU football. An instant classic.

It was a back-and-forth affair for much of the game, and multiple times in the second half, Texas appeared to have momentum on its side. They took a three-point lead late in the third quarter and then stuffed West Virginia on a fourth-and-short rushing attempt by Kennedy McKoy to get the ball back. WVU held them to just three points, keeping it a one-score game.

With a little over two minutes left, Sam Ehlinger connected with Devin Duvernay for a 48-yard touchdown to take a 41-34 lead. WVU then worked its way down the field on three passes and three runs to set up what would be one of the most iconic players in program history.

Grier dropped one in the bucket to Gary Jennings, 33 yards down the field for the touchdown, which was followed up by a two-point conversion where Grier rolled left and reached the ball over the goal line for what would be the game-winning score.

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