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Seth Doege: Texas Tech QB Lights Up West Virginia with 6 TDs in Win
October 13, 2012
Not only did Seth Doege lead the Texas Tech Red Raiders to an 49-14 upset over No. 5 West Virginia, but his six touchdowns made him the best player on the field.
Doege finished with Geno Smith-like numbers, going 32-of-42 with 499 yards on top of his six touchdowns. Outside of his one interception, he played mistake-free football in his team's biggest win of the season thus far.
His big day started almost immediately. He hit Jace Amaro for a 39-yard score less than two minutes into the game. Just over seven minutes later, he followed that up with a touchdown toss to Eric Ward, giving his squad a 14-0 lead.
Doege and the Red Raiders wouldn't look back. Before the first half ended, Doege had thrown two more touchdowns to two different receivers.
His ability to spread the ball around kept the Mountaineers' defense off-balance, exploiting every possible weakness. Completing passes to 11 different receivers doesn't give the defense any clue as to where the ball will go next.
It's not like West Virginia's defense was heralded coming into Saturday's tilt. Despite the team's undefeated record, this is the same unit that allowed 700 yards to Baylor earlier in the season.
That doesn't make Doege's performance any less spectacular, but it shouldn't be viewed as a huge surprise. He's a proven passer, in one of the nation's most pass-happy attacks. Red Raiders quarterbacks are expected to toss up prolific numbers every week.
Coming into the game, Doege had 1,392 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season. Last year, he eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark and had 28 touchdowns. He's a very capable passer who took advantage of an extremely weak defense.
Outperforming the Heisman-Trophy front-runner can't be taken lightly. Smith didn't play his usual game, and Doege made sure the score wasn't close.
Now at 4-1, the Red Raiders will play Texas Christian next week. After that, they must face Kansas State and a struggling Texas squad.
If Doege plays like this, expect Texas Tech's winning ways to continue.