Brown, QB Doege return to Lubbock under different circumstances
The 2012 trip to Texas Tech is one that many associated with the West Virginia football program wish they could forget for obvious reasons.
The No. 5 Mountaineers rolled into Lubbock undefeated and fresh off a road victory over Texas, but ran into a buzz saw in 49-14 loss to the Red Raiders. It was a game that wasn’t even close, as West Virginia fell behind 35-7 before halftime and the offense never could find its footing and the defense couldn't get off the field.
It was the game that started a downward spiral for the Mountaineers, who would lose five of their next seven games in the first year in their new league. The Big 12 honeymoon was over in a gust of west Texas wind.
Coincidentally enough, two very key components to the 2020 edition of the West Virginia football team had strong rooting interests on the opposite sideline that day.
Head coach Neal Brown then a young assistant was in his second season as the offensive coordinator for the Red Raiders and helped propel the scoring outburst.
While it was just another stop on the career ladder for Brown, it was just another Saturday for current WVU starting quarterback Jarret Doege. That’s because he grew up in the areas and was only a kid in the stands rooting for his older brother Seth during that 2012 game. Yes, that same Seth Doege who was the signal caller for the Red Raiders and tossed six scores against the Mountaineers defense.
“Jarret and I will talk about going back to Lubbock, but it's not something we're going to spend a lot of time on,” Brown said.
Doege often attended the games in Lubbock to watch his older brother but that one obviously had special meaning given the scope of the win and Seth’s play. He even admits to throwing his fair share of tortillas onto the field, one of the pre-game traditions at Tech over the years.
In fact, it was during his time around the Texas Tech football program where he met Brown at various football camps. That seeds of that relationship obviously proved critical down the road when Doege was looking for a landing spot after electing to leave Bowling Green.
But when the clock hit zeros on that mid-October day in 2012 and the game was over with the upset complete, Doege raced onto the field to share a moment with his older brother.
“I rushed the field and ran around. I tried to find my brother but couldn’t find him and just kind of enjoyed the experience of getting to rush the field and was hoping I could do that one day,” he said.
Now a little over eight years to the date, the younger Doege is hoping reverse the roles. He is expected to be accompanied in the stands with 15+ friends and family who still reside in the area and is excited to be playing quarterback in the Big 12 like his brother did before him.
“Seeing him sling the ball around, made me want to go play in an air raid offense like that. I’ve gained a lot of knowledge from him and I still do today,” the younger Doege said.
The Mountaineers have won the previous three meetings in Lubbock, but 2012 still remains in the memory of many of those that are associated with either program. It won’t change the past, but two figures that were in the stands are hoping for a different outcome this time around.
And nobody can blame the wind this time.
"I don’t think it’s a huge deal. You just have to tighten your spiral down and put maybe a little more velocity on it. There’s no secret to it or key to it you just throw the ball in the wind," Doege said.
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