In regards to the outcoached part of my opening statement, Coach Neal Brown has simply never shown that he is capable of leading WVU to any type of sustained success as head coach. Now in his 6th season at WVU Brown still looks like a small college coach attempting to keep his head above water in a Power 4 Conference. It is rare that he has this football team prepared to play well 3 games in a row let alone an entire season. This is why you are starting to see the pictures of coach Brown with a red clowns nose on his face with the caption NEAl CLOWN !!. My cousin Bill Keeler was telling me early this season that he just doesnt believe Neal Brown is a Power 4 coach. He did well at Troy but struggles to get WVU to play with any consistancy, especally against quality teams.

After a 9-4 season in 2023 with a very pretty victory over North Carolina in the Dukes Mayo Bowl much was made about the 2024 season. After all WVU was returning pretty much everyone on an offense that at time late last season seemed unstoppable. You were returning senior duel threat quarterback Garrett Greene, two established running backs in C.J. Donaldson and Jahiem White, you had multiple receivers, almost too many returning in hometown hero from Martinsburg high school wideout Hudson Clement along with Traylon Ray, Rodney Gallagher III, Treylon Davis and tight end Kole Taylor as well as 4 of 5 offensive linemen. Defensively they replaced and augmented various positions with major college transfers from establish Power 4 programs.

Much was expected of this WVU football team leading up too the opening game against Penn State in Morgantown which was a game that many believed WVU could and would win or at least compete in. Well the Mountaineers got slapped around on their home field before dropping a 34-12 decision that showed just how far the WVU program was from a top end Big 10 school. Well WVU came back and routed Albany 49-14 and headed into Pittsburg to see if they were good enough to win back too back games in the backyard brawl. For all but the last 5 minutes of the game WVU looked like the better team until they surrendered a 10-point lead with just minutes remaining to fall to the Panthers in a heartbreaker 38-34.

Next up WVU welcomed the Kansas Jayhawks and in a complete flip of the Pitt game as for all but the last 3 miuntes it looked like the struggling Jayhawks would right their ship and get out of Morgantown with a victory, however a furious comeback by WVU in the final 3 minutes led by senior quarterback Garrett Greene allowed them to claim a 32-28 victory and even their record at 2-2.

Then came the big test. Could WVU go to Stillwater Oklahoma and defeat a Cowboys football team that has essentially had their number since joining the Big 12 Mike Gundy was 9-2 against WVU going into that game and the Mountaineers played arguably their best most complete game since Neal Brown has been coach dominating OSU from the opening kick to the final whistle 38-14 in a game that wasnt even that close. This lopsided victory featured solid performances by Garrett Greene and the entire offense as well as the defense and special teams. This left WVU with a 3-2 mark heading into the clash with #11 Iowa State Cyclones, who like OK State also had the Mountaineers number, at least in the last 4 of 5 seasons. But I figured coming off such a great performance against OK State on the road in Stillwater coming back home for a night game in the black uniforms on national tv on FOX Sports that WVU would not only beat the Cyclones but maybe dominated them as they did OSU. Wow, I was about as wrong as I could have possible been as WVU went full circle and basically repeated their performance against Penn State in a brutal 3rd quarter led to a rather lopsided loss to the Cyclones.

The game Saturday night started out like it could be something special as WVU took the opening kick and marched 75 yards in 14 plays taking 7:42 off the 1st quarter clock before taking a 7-0 lead on an 8 yard Jahiem White TD run. On the ensuing drive the Cyclones drove to the WVU 29 before the drive stalled and their freshman kicker Kyle Konrardy missed a 47-yard field goal and it remained 7-0 EERs. On the ensuing drive WVU drove 53 yards on 11 to Cyclones 18 yard line but after two straight Garrett Greene incompletions the always reliable Mountaineer senior placekicker Michael Hayes II walked on to the field and missed a 31 yard chip shot and instead of a 2 score 10-0 lead it was still 7-0 WVU.

The Cyclones would take the ensuing kick off and drive 80 yards on just 3 plays as sophomore quarterback Rocco Becht hit Jaylin Noel for 60 yds for a TD. Becht is the son of former WVU Tight End Anthony Becht and by all accounts Rocco dreamed of being a Mountaineer but WVU never showed any interest in him. After a WVU punt ISU would drive 91 yards on 17 plays and take a 14-7 lead on Carson Hanson 11-yard TD run. WVU would add a 43 yard field goal by Hayes and we went too the break at 14-10 Cyclones with WVU still very much in this game even though they couldnt get anyhing going on offence. After ISU punted twice to start the 3rd quarter WVU on their 2nd possession drove 57 yards on 6 plays to the ISU 29 and it looked like WVU could close the gap to one point or even take the lead with a touchdown but on the next play Greene was picked off by the Cyclones sophomore DB Jamison Patton to end the threat. ISU would capitalize on the turnover and drive 65 yards on 10 plays to take a commanding lead on another Carson Hanson TD run this time from 3 yards out and with just under 14 minutes to go in the game it was 21-10 ISU. On the next possession Garrett Greene tossed another pick that led to another ISU TD and with 4:42 to go in the game it was 28-10 Cyclones. With 1:10 to go WVU would score again on a Jahiem White touchdown but it was much too little much too late and the EERS suffered a tough loss where they were simply out hustled, out played and out classed but Iowa State.

Now its homecoming week at WVU as they host the #17 Kansas State Wildcats in yet another night game at Milan Pushkar Stadium this one beginning a 7:30 pm again on FOX Sports. Hopefully you will see a better effort this Saturday night but the truth is Coach Neal Browns record against ranked opponents is not good.