Lawrence, Kansas – The West Virginia Mountaineers (6-6) finish the regular season with a road win at Kansas (2-10), defeating the Jayhawks 34-28.
West Virginia was up 21-13 at halftime, but Kansas quickly tied the game 21-21 on a horrendous pick six interception by Jarret Doege. However, senior running back Leddie Brown, who surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season, ran 45 yards for an incredible touchdown on the following possession.
Leddie Brown, touchdown!@WVUfootball retakes the lead in Lawrence pic.twitter.com/CuNA6M4czZ
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 28, 2021
The West Virginia offense was led by Leddie Brown, who rushed 19 times for 156 yards and 1 touchdown, and Tony Mathis, who was impressive in relief of Brown, rushing 22 times for 118 yards.
Jarret Doege finished the game 16/21 for 170 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Sean Ryan led the receivers with 5 receptions for 87 yards. Winston Wright had 3 receptions for 29 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Sam James had 2 catches for 16 yards and 1 touchdown.
The Mountaineers, who are now bowl eligible, will wait to see which bowl game they will play in. The Guaranteed Rate Bowl and The Liberty Bowl are both considered possibilities for West Virginia.
Observations
- Kansas is going to be a good team soon. Their program is clearly on an upward trajectory.
- Jarret Doege looks impressive against poor defenses like the one he faced tonight. When there is little to no pressure, Doege thrives. Against good/average defenses, Doege folds.
- The lack of depth in the West Virginia secondary is a real concern.
- It’s also concerning that West Virginia doesn’t seem capable of closing teams out. Kansas has no business staying as close as they did tonight.
- A 6-6 season is disappointing but tolerable after a 2-4 start.
- Tony Mathis was really impressive tonight. He ran really hard every time he touched the ball and will compete with Clemson transfer Lyn-J Dixon for the featured back role next season.
- A bowl win will go a long way towards building momentum going into a really crucial 2022-2023 season.
