MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Biding his time on the West Virginia sideline, fifth-string running back Dustin Garrison realized only a special set of circumstances would allow him to play in Saturday’s game at Maryland.
Then, like dominoes, the other running backs went down.
Rushel Shell banged his hand during a tumbling catch. Wendell Smallwood suffered cramps after being sick all week. Andrew Buie took a helmet to his knee on a swing pass.
When Dreamius Smith’s helmet popped off, necessitating a trip to the sideline, Garrison was up.
“Something came over me—I just ran in there without even getting called in,” he said. “But I’m always prepared on the sideline and always ready to get in the game.”
Ready, yes, though not exactly aware of the situational gravity.
Garrison’s 11-yard catch-and-run on a seemingly well-defended screen pass converted a third-and-8 and allowed WVU to retain possession with 1:12 left in the game. Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson called it “the play of the game” after the Mountaineers went on to kick the winning field goal.
“Honestly, I went out there not even knowing the down and distance, not knowing how much time we had left,” Garrison said. “I just went out there wanting to make a play.
“I knew the ball was going to come to me. When I looked I saw a couple of defenders trying to make the tackle, and I just knew I had to make a couple people miss.”
Garrison, who added a 10-yard run later in the drive to pick up a first down, was chosen by WVU coaches as the offensive champion.
Substitution pattern: Running backs coach JaJuan Seider had designs on getting Buie and Smith into the game earlier, only to have West Virginia’s offense thwart the plan by scoring too quickly.
“There was a couple times in the first half where I was trying to get them in,” Seider said. “But right when we got ready to sub we hit a long pass.”
So many plays: After WVU ran an astonishing 108 plays, smashing the school record by 12, Maryland coach Randy Edsall bemoaned the effect hurry-up offenses and first-down clock stoppages were having on the college game.
Though Seider didn’t mention Edsall by name, his comments Tuesday seemed rather pointed:
“Everybody wants to cry about how many plays there are. You know what? If you’ve got a problem with it, stop it. You can run 108 plays too if you have the ball. It ain’t our job to stop ourselves. It’s our job to make plays.”