COMMENTARY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Under Dana Holgorsen, November rarely went the way the Mountaineers faithful hoped it would. Since Holgorsen’s first season in 2011, the Mountaineers went 16-15 in November, with 2015 being the outlier at 4-0.
In WVU’s seven seasons in the Big 12 under Holgorsen, it only had a winning record twice in November (2015 and 16).
For the 2019 edition under Neal Brown, the Mountaineers will need to finish with a winning record to reach a bowl game, and if it fails to do so, it’ll be the third time this century they failed to make it to the postseason.
With the toughest stretch of the schedule behind it, West Virginia has four winnable games left, and it begins today with a struggling Texas Tech team at Milan Puskar Stadium. The Red Raiders, under first-year head coach Matt Wells, have lost three in a row and sit at 3-5 overall.
Just like West Virginia, Texas Tech needs to finish out the season with at least a 3-1 mark to reach a bowl, but with the game at home, this is a must-win for the Mountaineers with it arguably being the easiest in the slate.
“It’s a game between two teams that are really hungry for a win,” Brown said. “I have a lot of respect for Matt Wells and his staff. They did a great job really developing that program at Utah State.”
Texas Tech quarterback Jett Duffey may stick out in the minds of West Virginia fans — he led a second-half comeback against the Mountaineers last season in Lubbock when Alan Bowman exited with a collapsed lung.
The comeback bid fell short, but Duffey’s speed and elusiveness caused issues defensively for West Virginia, and he will likely get the start for Bowman, who’s missed five games this season with a shoulder injury. In his absence, Duffey completed 132 of 193 passes for 1,420 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions.
Duffey threw two interceptions alone in the game last season, one by Keith Washington that was returned for a touchdown to seal the win for West Virginia late.
Duffey is a different guy this season, according to Washington.
“He’s improved from last year,” Washington said. “Last year, he was still a dynamic quarterback, and this year, he is the same guy. He can hurt you with arm and his legs, and we’re going to try to find a way to minimize that. There’s film on him this year. I watched a couple of games and I feel like he’s been doing a good job for Texas Tech.”
Duffey’s gained confidence in his passing ability is evident in his rushing numbers. Last year in just over two quarters against WVU, he had 86 yards and a score. In fives games this year, Duffey only has 93 yards and a score. He’s more willing to stand in the pocket and throw, which is a credit to Wells and the offensive system he’s brought in, moving on from the departed Kliff Kingsbury.
Duffey is likely to get the start, but Bowman is making his way back and hasn’t been ruled out for today’s game. Both could see playing time, which brings us to the other sideline, where Brown made it seem like more than just Austin Kendall could play quarterback for the Mountaineers.
With four games left, the cover has been pulled off on players who will redshirt this season under the four-game rule implemented last year. That includes Jarret Doege, who transferred in from Bowling Green last summer.
Jack Allison announced he entered the transfer portal to look elsewhere, so Doege and Trey Lowe are the backups, and with the offensive struggling under Kendall — and it’s very obviously not just him — Brown may look to light a fire with different looks under a different quarterback.
“Both Jarret Doege and Trey Lowe can potentially see time in this game,” Brown said. “We will let them battle it out. Both will have an opportunity to see time.”
Doege, even more than Kendall, had the most experience of any QB on the roster prior to the season. Last year at Bowling Green, he threw for 2,660 yards and 27 touchdowns. However, he transferred in late and dealt with health issues, so even when the NCAA ruled him immediately eligible, the coaching staff planned to redshirt Doege.
If Doege does play Saturday, along with the rest of the regular season, and the Mountaineers reach a bowl game, he likely won’t play in the bowl to preserve his redshirt.
While Kendall may get too much blame for West Virginia’s offensive woes — it is last in scoring offense (21.6 points per game) and total offense (302.2 yards) in the Big 12 — Lowe and Doege could breath life into what’s been stale all season.
That’s could be exactly what it needs during a critical November stretch.
