Sunday Morning Thoughts: Back on Track?
The Mountaineers put an end to the three-game losing skid on Saturday with a 29-17 win over the TCU Horned Frogs on the road. Lately, this weekly column has criticized Neal Brown for what transpired the day before but not this week.
Brown and his staff had their guys ready to go. The opening kickoff was returned for a touchdown but they didn't let that phase them. West Virginia went to work and scored on its first four offensive possessions. Quarterback Jarret Doege had arguably his best game of the year completing 21 of 28 passes for 257 yards. He had a couple of questionable decisions but he also made some headsy plays too which is something we haven't seen a lot of. In the first half, West Virginia faced a 3rd & 5 at about its own 40-yard line. Doege pumped left, rolled right, and threw one to Isaiah Esdale at the sticks for a first down to keep the drive alive. He did a really good job of just taking what the defense gave him, for the most part.
Leddie Brown and the West Virginia run game resurfaced which had to be pleasing to the eyes of head coach Neal Brown. For whatever reason, the Mountaineers have really struggled to run the football this year. In fact, they came into yesterday's game ranked dead last in the Big 12 in rushing yards per game - not ideal when you don't have an elite quarterback. Leddie rushed for 111 yards and three scores on 24 carries while Tony Mathis Jr. totaled 48 yards on 12 carries. Although it was a small sample size, Mathis looked strong running the ball and that's exactly what WVU needs in order to make a run at becoming bowl eligible. Leddie Brown can't be the only back getting touches, a number two back must emerge and it appears Mathis did just that on Saturday.
Defensively, it looked like it was going to be a long day early on but defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley made some adjustments at the half and shut out TCU in the 2nd half. A large part of that came from three turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble recovery). Coming into the week, WVU had only picked off two passes all season. Again, not ideal when you have an offense that doesn't typically put up a bunch of points.
Overall, it was a really strong showing coming out of the bye week. I was curious to see if this team still wanted to compete or if they had thrown in the towel for the season and it appears that they are still highly invested. The only thing that I question coming out of this game is whether this was a bad performance from TCU or if it was actually a good showing by West Virginia. It seemed like a mixture of both. The Mountaineers have the next two contests at home but against two of the top teams in the league, Iowa State and Oklahoma State. Sweeping both of those games is a bit of a tough ask but you have to at least earn a split. Putting back-to-back solid outings has not existed for West Virginia this season. Will they do so now with their back against the wall? Only time will tell.
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