Going up against WVU’s defense, opposing dual-threat quarterbacks seem to find success in high volumes.
This last weekend was no different, and the latest beneficiary of the Mountaineers' struggles was Arizona State’s Jeff Sims. Sims got the start at home against the Mountaineers due to Arizona State’s star quarterback Sam Leavitt suffering a season-ending injury. Sims has found ways to leave his impact on games, including leading Arizona State to a win over WVU on Saturday.
WVU knew what to expect coming in –Sims had rushed for 228 yards on 29 carries with two rushing touchdowns and added 177 yards and one touchdown through the air in the Sun Devils' last outing in a game that placed his muddy jersey in the Arizona State Hall of Fame next to legendary Sun Devil athletes like James Harden, Phil Mickelson, and Barry Bonds. And he picked up right where he left off on Saturday.
Sims did not take advantage of WVU’s defense as much as he did Iowa State’s defense in his record-breaking performance, but both were good games for Sims that led to an Arizona State win. Against the Mountaineers, Sims finished the game going 19-for-28 through the air for 207 passing yards and three passing touchdowns ahile adding 81 rushing yards on 17 carries. Sims’ 81 rushing yards were more than WVU had as a team on the ground.
Other opposing dual-threat quarterbacks like Ohio’s Parker Navarro, Kansas’ Jalon Daniels, and now Sims have all had their way against the WVU defense. Arguably, the only mobile quarterback that did run all over the WVU defense was Bear Bachmeier from BYU, who finished with 43 rushing yards on 12 carries. The true freshman quarterback for BYU did not have to run much because his fellow Cougar in the backfield, LJ Martin, finished the game with 21 carries and 90 rushing yards, relieving a lot of the running work from Bachmeier’s legs. Even Devon Dampier of Utah, who threw four touchdowns against WVU and only ran for 33 yards, picked up a fifth total touchdown with his legs.
Zac Alley’s defense has not found much of an answer against the mobile quarterbacks. This is an issue that will need to be addressed in the offseason with the addition of faster linebackers in Alley’s defense.