As with any Week 1 college football game, many are left with more questions than answers. I’ve got five on it this week following West Virginia’s 30-24 loss to Maryland. While I hate to be pessimistic, this game was a net negative.
1. Evidence of Jarret Doege's 'improvement' is missing
In the words of ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, we've been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok and flat out deceived.
The performance that West Virginia’s Jarret Doege turned in on Saturday was anything but the greatly improved quarterback that coaches have been preaching about and members of the media have seen in practice.
Now, I don’t think that he was terrible. He was a serviceable quarterback, putting in mostly quality minutes as he did a season ago. But, at least in this game, he was the exact same quarterback the Mountaineers received in 2021. His performance should have been expected, and I’ll openly admit that I was fooled.
I do think that Doege showed some bright spots, like in his pocket mobility. But he remains in quarterback purgatory and, until he shows the ability to be a true game changer, he’s no reason to get excited, nor is he reason for opposing teams to feel threatened.
