Jarret Doege threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns and Leddie Brown ran for 161 yards and a score to power West Virginia to a 27-21 upset of No. 15 Virginia Tech in a nonconference game Saturday in Morgantown, W.Va.
Doege completed 15 of 26 passes and Brown averaged 8.5 yards per carry, but it was the defense that secured the victory.
The Mountaineers capped a day in which they recorded six sacks by forcing an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line in the final minute, preventing the Hokies from completing their comeback from 20 points down late in the third quarter.
The Mountaineers (2-1) of the Big 12 have won seven straight home games and are 19-0 against nonconference opponents in Morgantown since falling to then-No. 2 LSU in 2011. The Hokies (2-1) of the ACC were denied their first 3-0 start since 2017.
On WVU’s second offensive snap, Brown took a handoff and raced up the middle for an 80-yard touchdown to give the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead with 12:24 left that it wouldn’t relinquish.
After Doege extended the lead to 14-0 with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Ford-Wheaton with 9:11 left in the first quarter, Virginia Tech pulled to within 14-7 when Braxton Burmeister threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Tayvion Robinson six minutes later.
West Virginia dominated the second quarter. Doege threw a 16-yard scoring strike to Sam James midway through the period and Casey Legg connected on a 21-yard field goal for a 24-7 halftime lead.
The Mountaineers extended the lead to 27-7 to open the second half, as Legg’s 44-yard field capped a 12-play, 55-yard drive that lasted more than eight minutes.
Raheem Blackshear pulled Virginia Tech to within 27-14 when he scored on a 20-yard run with a second left in the third quarter.
The Hokies had a chance to pull closer after forcing a turnover, but Jared Bartlett stripped Burmeister on fourth-and-goal from the 6, with Lance Dixon recovering for the Mountaineers with less than six minutes to play.
Burmeister, who finished 19-of-31 passing for 227 yards and two touchdowns, capped the scoring with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Holston that pulled the Hokies to within 27-21 with 3:10 left.
The Hokies had a chance to win after intercepting Doege with 2:11 left and returning it the Mountaineers’ 17-yard line, but their offense couldn’t find the end zone.
–Field Level Media