Both of the following statements can be true.
First, Garrett Greene played the game of his life and was the best player on the field Thursday night.
Second, Greene’s penalty at the end of the game allowed Houston the chance to try for a Hail Mary that ended up being the game-winner.
Because of the circumstances of the game, the latter has gotten a lot more attention from fans, but it’s the former that is much more important to WVU this season.
Greene accounted for 438 yards of offense and four touchdowns. His 391 passing yards were by far the most he’s ever thrown for in a single game, shattering his previous career-high of 240.
“He was special (Thursday),” head coach Neal Brown said after the game. “I thought he was going to have a breakout performance and he did.”
Greene was most impressive when the Mountaineers’ backs were against the wall. WVU trailed by 11 points with 7:28 left to play and Greene orchestrated two touchdown drives to take the lead.
On those possessions, Greene threw for 129 yards and a touchdown and also ran in an eight-yard score.
The celebration penalty for taking his helmet off came after Greene’s 50-yard go-ahead touchdown to Hudson Clement with 12 seconds left.
You just can’t get the penalty. He’s got to grow up, got to mature,” Brown said. “But he was special. Who was better on the field tonight?”
Before Thursday, WVU was averaging just 155.6 passing yards per game and only 115.8 yards against FBS competition. Greene more than doubled that.
“We knew we haven’t been the best with our pass offense yet and we’ve been trying to put it together,” Clement said. “(Thursday) we felt like was a statement game for our pass offense. We knew we were going to try and take some shots and throw the ball down the field and we did that.”
No. 1 receiver Devin Carter entered the game with just 141 yards through five games. He made five receptions for 116 on Thursday.
“I haven’t done a good enough job of getting him the ball in situations where he can be special, because he’s a really special player,” Greene said. “(Thursday), we finally found a way to get him the ball in space and we hope to do that more.”
It was a breakout game in every sense of the word for Greene and WVU’s passing game. The penalty at the end doesn’t change that.
The Mountaineers were able to do things against Houston they hadn’t all season. Greene completed passes downfield to receivers, WVU had 11 passing plays over 15 yards.
The play-action game also finally came alive. Nowhere was it more evident than on the 35-yard flea flicker touchdown in the third quarter.
If either, or both, of those trends continue, West Virginia goes from a team that has to scrape and claw to beat opponents in low-scoring rock fights to an actual threat in the Big 12.
Yes, Thursday’s loss was devastating and it’s frustrating to see a team and player make mistakes to beat themselves, but there’s a lot of season left and the bigger picture to consider is how WVU’s offense, and Greene specifically, were able to flourish.
