West Virginia has had issues hitting explosive plays down the field in the passing game.

It’s not as if it’s a secret either and certainly not to head coach Neal Brown.

The Mountaineers were 3/6 on passes thrown over 20+ yards in the opener against overmatched FCS opponent Eastern Kentucky. Since that point, redshirt junior quarterback Jarret Doege is 0/9 on such passes and has only completed 6 passes past the 10+ yard mark in total.

“Our passing game has to be way better than it is,” Brown said.

In only four appearances last season, Doege was 7/20 on such opportunities 20+ yards down the field so it’s something that he has proven he can do. But now, it has to happen this year, if the offense wants to take the next step in its development this season.

It’s not as if the program hasn’t had opportunities, as Oklahoma State played man coverage and dared the Mountaineers to beat them with the deep ball. The results were eight separate misfires over 20+ yards down the field and only a handful of connections over 10+ yards.

West Virginia only took one shot down the field against Baylor, largely a result of what Brown said was his doing in regard to getting those shots dialed up. Still, without that element in the offense it makes things more challenging and it is something that will be a focus of the coaches.

“We have to throw the ball down the field better,” Brown said.

Some of that falls in line with protection and young tackles on the edge, but the Mountaineers are hoping to iron out the kinks over the bye week.

That missing element would go a long way for this offense as a whole.

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