# 2021 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

The 2021 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University during the current 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mountaineers played their home games at the Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia, and competed in the Big 12 Conference. The team was led by third-year head coach Neal Brown.

## Schedule

The 2021 schedule consists of 6 home and 6 away games in the regular season.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 4 | 3:30 p.m. | at Maryland* | Maryland StadiumCollege Park, MD (rivalry) | ESPN | L 24–30 | 43,811 |
| September 11 | 5:00 p.m. | LIU* | Milan Puskar StadiumMorgantown, WV | ESPN+ | W 66–0 | 50,911 |
| September 18 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 15 Virginia Tech* | Milan Puskar StadiumMorgantown, WV (rivalry) | FS1 | W 27–21 | 60,222 |
| September 25 | 7:30 p.m. | at No. 4 Oklahoma | Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | ABC | L 13–16 | 84,353 |
| October 2 | 3:30 p.m. | Texas Tech | Milan Puskar StadiumMorgantown, WV | ESPN2 | L 20–23 | 54,090 |
| October 9 | 12:00 p.m. | at Baylor | McLane StadiumWaco, TX | FS1 | L 20–45 | 43,569 |
| October 23 | 7:30 p.m. | at TCU | Amon G. Carter StadiumFort Worth, TX | ESPNU | W 29–17 | 37,288 |
| October 30 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 22 Iowa State | Milan Puskar StadiumMorgantown, WV | ESPN+ | W 38–31 | 45,613 |
| November 6 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 11 Oklahoma State | Milan Puskar StadiumMorgantown, WV | ESPN | L 3–24 | 50,109 |
| November 13 | 12:00 p.m. | at Kansas State | Bill Snyder Family Football StadiumManhattan, KS | FS1 | L 17–34 | 43,932 |
| November 20 | 12:00 p.m. | Texas | Milan Puskar StadiumMorgantown, WV | ESPN2 | W 31–23 | 48,755 |
| November 27 | 7:00 p.m. | at Kansas | David Booth Kansas Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS | FS1 | W 34–28 | 23,117 |
| December 28 | 10:15 p.m. | vs. Minnesota* | Chase FieldPhoenix, AZ (Guaranteed Rate Bowl) | ESPN | L 6–18 | 21,220 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 2 prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||
    Schedule Source:

## Game summaries
### At Maryland

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| West Virginia | 14 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
| Maryland | 17 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 30 |
at Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD
* Date: Saturday, September 4, 2021
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: sunny • Temperature: 79°F
* Game attendance: 43,811
* Referee: Brandon Cruse
* TV announcers (ESPN): Anish Shroff, Mike Golic Jr., Taylor McGregor
* Pregame line: West Virginia -3
| Statistics | WVU | UMD |
| First downs | 18 | 22 |
| Total yards | 319 | 495 |
| Rushes/yards | 21/42 | 44/163 |
| Passing yards | 277 | 332 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 24–40–2 | 26–36–0 |
| Time of possession | 25:57 | 34:03 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| West Virginia | Passing | Jarret Doege | 24–40, 277 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| West Virginia | Rushing | Leddie Brown | 16 carries, 69 yards, 2 TD |
| West Virginia | Receiving | Sam James | 5 receptions, 65 yards |
| Maryland | Passing | Taulia Tagovailoa | 26–36, 332 yards, 3 TD |
| Maryland | Rushing | Tayon Fleet-Davis | 18 carries, 123 yards |
| Maryland | Receiving | Dontay Demus Jr. | 6 receptions, 133 yards, 1 TD |

### LIU

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| LIU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Virginia | 21 | 17 | 21 | 7 | 66 |
at Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV
* Date: Saturday, September 11, 2021
* Game time: 5:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: sunny • Temperature: 73°F
* Game attendance: 50,911
* Referee: Scott Campbell
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Bill Spaulding, Barrett Brooks
* Pregame line: West Virginia -50
| Statistics | LIU | WVU |
| First downs | 9 | 29 |
| Total yards | 95 | 542 |
| Rushes/yards | 35/31 | 55/198 |
| Passing yards | 60 | 344 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 11–21–0 | 20–32–0 |
| Time of possession | 24:53 | 35:07 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Long Island | Passing | Camden Orth | 11–20, 60 yards |
| Long Island | Rushing | Jonathan DeBique | 8 carries, 23 yards |
| Long Island | Receiving | Steven Chambers | 2 receptions, 18 yards |
| West Virginia | Passing | Jarret Doege | 14–22, 259 yards, 3 TD |
| West Virginia | Rushing | Garrett Greene | 14 carries, 98 yards, 2 TD |
| West Virginia | Receiving | Sean Ryan | 3 receptions, 77 yards, 1 TD |

### Virginia Tech

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 15 Virginia Tech | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| West Virginia | 14 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
at Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV
* Date: Saturday, September 18, 2021
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C)
* Game attendance: 60,022
* Referee: Riley Johnson
* TV announcers (FS1): Corey Provus, Devin Gardner
* Pregame line: West Virginia −2.5
| Statistics | VT | WVU |
| First downs | 19 | 18 |
| Total yards | 329 | 373 |
| Rush yards | 106 | 180 |
| Passing yards | 223 | 193 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 32:03 | 27:57 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Braxton Burmeister | 19/31, 223 yards, TD |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Raheem Blackshear | 10 carries, 47 yards, TD |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Kaleb Smith | 6 receptions, 58 yards |
| West Virginia | Passing | Jarret Doege | 15/26, 193 yards, 2 TD |
| West Virginia | Rushing | Leddie Brown | 19 carries, 161 yards, TD |
| West Virginia | Receiving | Isaiah Esdale | 4 receptions, 46 yards |

### At Oklahoma

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| West Virginia | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| No. 4 Oklahoma | 7 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 16 |
at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK
* Date: Saturday, September 25, 2021
* Game time: 6:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: • Sunny Temperature: 86
* Game attendance: 84,353
* Referee: David Alvarez
* TV announcers (ABC): Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) and Holly Rowe (sideline)
* Pregame line: - 17 1/2
| Statistics | WVU | OKLA |
| First downs | 18 | 19 |
| Total yards | 226 | 313 |
| Rushes/yards | 29-47 | 28-57 |
| Passing yards | 179 | 256 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 23-34-1 | 26-36-1 |
| Time of possession | 33:00 | 27:00 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| West Virginia | Passing | Jarret Doege | 20/29, 160 yards, 1 INT |
| West Virginia | Rushing | Leddie Brown | 15 carries, 56 yards |
| West Virginia | Receiving | Bryce Ford-Wheaton | 8 receptions, 93 yards |
| Oklahoma | Passing | Spencer Rattler | 26/36, 256 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Oklahoma | Rushing | Eric Gray | 12 carries, 38 yards |
| Oklahoma | Receiving | Michael Woods II | 8 receptions, 86 yards |

### Texas Tech

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Red Raiders | 14 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 23 |
| Mountaineers | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 20 |
at Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia
* Date: October 2
* Game time: 2:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Temperature: 75 °F (24 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: SW 6 MPH
* Game attendance: 54,090
* Referee: Michael Vandervelde
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Mike Golic Jr. (analyst) and Lauren Sisler (sideline)
* Box score, Recap
Game information :
First quarter
TTU – SaRodrick Thompson 1-yard run (Jonathan Garibay kick), 4:51. Red Raiders 7–0. Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, 4:27.
TTU – SaRodrick Thompson 1-yard run (Jonathan Garibay kick), 0:08. Red Raiders 14–0. Drive: 6 plays, 34 yards, 2:49.
Second quarter
TTU – Jonathan Garibay 33-yard field goal, 0:00. Red Raiders 17–0. Drive: 12 plays, 59 yards, 1:57.
Third quarter
WVU – Leddie Brown 4-yard run (Casey Legg kick), 11:59. Red Raiders 17–7. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:01.
WVU – Casey Legg 36-yard field goal, 5:47. Red Raiders 17–10. Drive: 9 plays, 46 yards, 3:43.
WVU – Isaiah Esdale 14-yard pass from Jarret Doege (Casey Legg kick), 1:15. Tied 17–17. Drive: 6 plays, 86 yards, 2:58.
Fourth quarter
TTU – Jonathan Garibay 29-yard field goal, 11:46. Red Raiders 20–17. Drive: 9 plays, 62 yards, 4:29.
WVU – Casey Legg 28-yard field goal, 4:34. Tied 20–20. Drive: 13 plays, 64 yards, 7:12.
TTU – Jonathan Garibay 32-yard field goal, 0:18. Red Raiders 23–20. Drive: 8 plays, 70 yards, 4:16.
Top passers
TTU – Henry Colombi – 23/34, 266 yards
WVU – Jarret Doege – 25/33, 318 yards, TD
Top rushers
TTU – SaRodorick Thompson – 12 rushes, 48 yards, 2 TD
WVU – Leddie Brown – 17 rushes, 57 yards, TD
Top receivers
TTU – Kaylon Geiger – 7 receptions, 82 yards
WVU – Isaiah Esdale – 6 receptions, 113 yards, TD :

### At Baylor

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| West Virginia | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
| Baylor | 21 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 45 |
at McLane Stadium • Waco, TX
* Date: Saturday, October 9, 2021
* Game time: 11:00 a.m. CDT
* Game weather: sunny • Temperature: 80°F
* Game attendance: 43,569
* Referee: Kevin Hassel
* TV announcers (FS1): Cory Provus, Mark Helfrich
* Pregame line: Baylor -3.5
| Statistics | WVU | BU |
| First downs | 24 | 21 |
| Total yards | 362 | 525 |
| Rushes/yards | 38/90 | 32/171 |
| Passing yards | 272 | 354 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 24–37–1 | 20–31–0 |
| Time of possession | 34:21 | 25:39 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| West Virginia | Passing | Jarret Doege | 20–31, 237 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| West Virginia | Rushing | Garrett Greene | 10 carries, 55 yards, 1 TD |
| West Virginia | Receiving | Winston Wright Jr. | 6 receptions, 86 yards |
| Baylor | Passing | Gerry Bohanon | 18–29, 336 yards, 4 TD |
| Baylor | Rushing | Abram Smith | 11 carries, 87 yards, 1 TD |
| Baylor | Receiving | Tyquan Thornton | 8 receptions, 187 yards, 2 TD |

### At TCU

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| West Virginia | 10 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 29 |
| TCU | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
at Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX
* Date: Saturday, October 23, 2021
* Game time: 6:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: sunny • Temperature: 85°F • Wind: SE 16mph
* Game attendance: 37,288
* Referee: David Alvarez
* TV announcers (ESPNU): Brian Custer and Kelly Stouffer
* Pregame line:
| Statistics | WVU | TCU |
| First downs | 24 | 19 |
| Total yards | 487 | 393 |
| Rushes/yards | 41/229 | 34/149 |
| Passing yards | 258 | 244 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 22–29–0 | 16–26–2 |
| Time of possession | 35:30 | 24:30 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| West Virginia | Passing | Jarret Doege | 21–28, 257 yards |
| West Virginia | Rushing | Leddie Brown | 24 carries, 111 yards, 3 TD |
| West Virginia | Receiving | Sean Ryan | 4 receptions, 81 yards |
| TCU | Passing | Max Duggan | 16–26, 244 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| TCU | Rushing | Zach Evans | 18 carries, 62 yards |
| TCU | Receiving | Quentin Johnston | 5 receptions, 113 yards |

### Iowa State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Iowa State | 14 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 31 |
| West Virginia | 14 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
at Milan Puskar Stadium • Morgantown, West Virginia
* Date: Saturday, October 30, 2021
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Rain • Temperature: 47°F
* Game attendance: 48,363
* Referee: Derek Anderson
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Courtney Lyle (pxp), Brandon Weeden (analyst), Shane Sparks (sideline)
| Statistics | ISU | WVU |
| First downs | 16 | 28 |
| Total yards | 424 | 492 |
| Rushes/yards | 34/239 | 29/122 |
| Passing yards | 185 | 370 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 16–27–0 | 30–47–2 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 25:42 | 34:18 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Iowa State | Passing | Brock Purdy | 16–27, 185 YDS, 1 TD |
| Iowa State | Rushing | Breece Hall | 24 CAR, 167 YDS, 1 TD |
| Iowa State | Receiving | Tarique Milton | 1 REC, 68 YDS, 1 TD |
| West Virginia | Passing | Jarret Doege | 30-46, 370 YDS, 3 TD, 2 INT |
| West Virginia | Rushing | Leddie Brown | 22 CAR, 109 YDS, 2 TD |
| West Virginia | Receiving | Bryce Ford-Wheaton | 3 REC, 54 YDS, 1 TD |

### Oklahoma State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 11 Oklahoma State | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| West Virginia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
at Milan Puskar Stadium • Morgantown, WV
* Date: Saturday, November 6, 2021
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 55
* Game attendance: 50,109
* TV announcers (ESPN): Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Dan Orlovsky (analyst) and Kris Budden (sideline)
* Pregame line: Oklahoma State – 3 1/2
| Statistics | OKST | WVU |
| First downs | 17 | 11 |
| Total yards | 285 | 133 |
| Rushes/yards | 32/103 | 33/17 |
| Passing yards | 182 | 116 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 21–31–1 | 16–24–1 |
| Time of possession | 28:52 | 31:08 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Oklahoma State | Passing | Spencer Sanders | 22/31, 182 yards, 2 TD's, 1 INT |
| Oklahoma State | Rushing | Jaylen Warren | 16 carries, 78 yards, 1 TD |
| Oklahoma State | Receiving | Tay Martin | 7 receptions, 63 yards, 2 TD's |
| West Virginia | Passing | Jarret Doege | 16/24,116 yards, 1 INT |
| West Virginia | Rushing | Tony Mathis | 5 carries, 25 yards |
| West Virginia | Receiving | Sam James | 5 receptions, 46 yards |

### At Kansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| West Virginia | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| • Kansas State | 14 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 34 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| KS -6 | 47.5 |
| Statistics | West Virginia | Kansas State |
| First downs | 20 | 15 |
| Total yards | 345 | 299 |
| Rushing yards | 77 | 161 |
| Passing yards | 268 | 138 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 26:32 | 33:28 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| West Virginia | Passing | Jarret Doege | 27/45, 268 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| West Virginia | Rushing | Leddie Brown | 20 carries, 85 yards, 0 TD |
| West Virginia | Receiving | Bryce Ford-Wheaton | 5 catches, 67 yards, O TD |
| Kansas State | Passing | Skylar Thompson | 14/19, 138 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT |
| Kansas State | Rushing | Deuce Vaughn | 25 carries, 121 yards, 1 TD |
| Kansas State | Receiving | Phillip Brooks | 5 catches, 62 yards, 0 TD |

### Texas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Texas | 0 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| • West Virginia | 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| TX +2.0 | 56.5 |
| Statistics | Texas | West Virginia |
| First downs | 16 | 28 |
| Total yards | 355 | 459 |
| Rushing yards | 203 | 158 |
| Passing yards | 152 | 301 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 21:24 | 38:36 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Texas | Passing | Hudson Card | 10-16, 123 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT |
| Texas | Rushing | Keilan Robinson | 9 carries, 111 yards, 1 TD |
| Texas | Receiving | Xavier Worthy | 7 receptions, 85 yards, 1 TD |
| West Virginia | Passing | Jarret Doege | 27-43, 290 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT |
| West Virginia | Rushing | Leddie Brown | 33 carries, 158 yards, 1 TD |
| West Virginia | Receiving | Winston Wright | 6 receptions, 67 yards, 1 TD |

### At Kansas

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| West Virginia | 7 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 34 |
| Kansas | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 28 |
at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS
* Date: Saturday, November 27, 2021
* Game time: 6:00 pm CDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 52 °F (11 °C)
* Game attendance: 23,117
* Referee: Tuta Salaam
* TV announcers (FS1): Guy Haberman, Charles Arbuckle
* Pregame line: West Virginia –15
| Statistics | WVU | KU |
| First downs | 15 | 23 |
| Total yards | 436 | 336 |
| Rush yards | 261 | 87 |
| Passing yards | 175 | 249 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 32:28 | 26:37 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| West Virginia | Passing | Jarret Doege | 16/21 170 yards 3 TD 1 INT |
| West Virginia | Rushing | Leddie Brown | 19 carries 156 yards 1 TD |
| West Virginia | Receiving | Sean Ryan | 5 receptions 87 yards |
| Kansas | Passing | Jalon Daniels | 22/32 249 yards 1 TD 2 INT |
| Kansas | Rushing | Amauri Pesek-Hickson | 12 carries 69 yards |
| Kansas | Receiving | Luke Grimm | 4 receptions 105 yards |

### Vs. Minnesota (Guaranteed Rate Bowl)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| West Virginia | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 18 |
at Chase Field • Phoenix, Arizona
* Date: Tuesday, December 28, 2021
* Game time: 10:15 p.m. EST (8:15 p.m. local MST)
* Game attendance: 21,220
* TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst), and Stormy Buonantony (sideline)
* Box score

### Statistics

| Statistics | WVU | MIN |
| First downs | 16 | 17 |
| Plays–yards | 58–206 | 64–358 |
| Rushes–yards | 27–66 | 51–249 |
| Passing yards | 140 | 109 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 18–31–1 | 8–13–1 |
| Time of possession | 21:31 | 38:29 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| West Virginia | Passing | Jarret Doege | 18/31, 140 yards, INT |
| West Virginia | Rushing | Tony Mathis Jr. | 13 carries, 56 yards |
| West Virginia | Receiving | Sam James | 3 receptions, 40 yards |
| Minnesota | Passing | Tanner Morgan | 8/13, 109 yards, INT |
| Minnesota | Rushing | Ky Thomas | 21 carries, 144 yards, TD |
| Minnesota | Receiving | Dylan Wright | 2 receptions, 58 yards |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | RV | — | — | RV | — | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Coaches | RV | — | — | RV | — | | | | | | | | | | | |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | | | | | | | Not released |

## Coaching staff

| Coach | Title | Year at West Virginia | Previous job |
| Neal Brown | Head Coach | 3rd | Troy |
| Matt Moore | Assistant Head Coach/OL | 3rd | Troy Co-OC/OL |
| Gerad Parker | OC/WR | 2nd | Penn State (WR/PGC) |
| Chad Scott | Co-OC/RB | 3rd | Louisville (RB) |
| Jeff Koonz | ILB/ST | 2nd | Ole Miss (ILB) |
| Jordan Lesley | Co-DC/OLB | 3rd | Troy (DL) |
| Andrew Jackson | DL | 1st | Old Dominion (DL) |
| Sean Reagan | QB | 3rd | Troy (Co-OC/QB) |
| Travis Trickett | TE/IWR | 3rd | Georgia State (OC/QB) |
| Jahmile Addae | Co-DC/DB | 1st | Louisville (DB) |
| Dontae Wright | S | 2nd | Western Michigan (S) |