I have a question for the stats guys and googlers. Has Neal Brown ever beat a FBS team that finished the season with a winning record? I dont think he has, actually.
When HCNB arrived on the scene many of you
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Assuming you’re asking specifically during his tenure at WVU and not at Troy. I was trying to remember us beating any top 25 teams during his tenure. Couldn’t think of any but feel like he has at least one of those under his belt here.
Yeah while at WVU. I dont think he has beat anyone who finished the season with a winning record in his 4+ years. OU only went 6-7 last year, same with Baylor. I'm looking for any reason to believe this dude can win and truly turn it around, but honestly cant see any yet.
I know we beat a ranked VT team and Iowa State team one year but not sure how Iowa State finished.
The defense that year was the best we had under Holgorsen and did have some important players. Noble Nwachukwa and Shuler on D-line. David Long and Al-Rasheed Benton at LB. Kyzir White and Rasul Douglas in the secondary. 3 of those 6 are NFL starters currently.
24 ppg across all 13 games.
24.1 ppg in Big 12 play.
18.8 ppg in wins.
41.3 ppg in losses.
All this to say that while I agree with the assessment of this being Dana's best coaching year, I think a down year for the conference and an uncharacteristically competent defense had more to do with the 10 wins. The 3 above average teams on the schedule that year (OU, OSU, and Miami) all easily handled WVU while we eeked out close wins with closer to average teams (17-16 vs KSU, 35-32 vs BYU, 24-21 vs Baylor, 24-20 vs Texas) that likely would've been losses with the typical Holgorsen defense.
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Cignetti at least beat 11 Maryland and gave 1st ranked Pitt a good game in his 4 years at WVU. Brown gave top 10 Oklahoma a game in 2021 and that is it.
Good post! I think you are right about a lot there. The defense was really awesome that year, and the B12 was having a down year for sure. The stage was definitely set for a good season that year. The star power we had was definitely on defense. Those dudes were awesome.
4 years of Cignetti are at best equal to Brown's 4 years. You may recall them as more brutal, but the content is the same or worse for Brown. Uncompetitive in losing to good teams, losing more often than not to average teams, and only beating average to bad teams by unimpressive margins. Cignetti at least beat a highly ranked team once.
The wins and losses are only part of why I don't trust the climb probably never will again. His record is definitely the only reason needed to not trust the climb , but for me a lot of it is how he handles himself and press conferences. He has spent four years making excuses and throwing everyone under the bus but himself. I just don't see him as being a leader type. In fact he wants the team to be player led. He doesn't even want to be a leader, and it shows very clearly. He doesn't have the demeanor of a leader of men and has made more excuses than any coach I've ever heard. I can't see anyone like that ever truly being successful on a big stage
And let's not forget that in a state that voted probably over 70% for trump, he marched down High Street representing a violent Marxist organization that hates America and all of our way of life. Neil Brown doesn't represent West Virginia's values
And let's not forget that in a state that voted probably over 70% for trump, he marched down High Street representing a violent Marxist organization that hates America and all of our way of life. Neil Brown doesn't represent West Virginia's values
If you look at the season before that when Baylor and TCU were still very good, its hard to say that the 2016 team wouldn't have likely only had 8 wins playing that much tougher schedule.
Neal Brown just won his 4th straight for first time ever and has beaten ranked teams as well.
2021...
#15 Virginia Tech
#22 ISU
2020
#16 KSU
He is also 3-0 @TCU
I don't smoke or drink. Perhaps you should ask Biden for his presidential Cocaine. I hear he uses it for his dementia.
First that post was before this game. Second, none of those teams actually finished ranked. I care not if a team is ranked 15th when we play them, but ultimately finished the season 8-5.
I do because they were ranked and WVU beat them when they were ranked. They finished unranked because WVU beat their ass when ranked.
How is it the biggest win? Brown teams are unbeaten at TCU and 1-1 in Morgantown. WVU should have beaten them last year.
I'll say this: the cupboard wasn't bare, but it was pretty thin....subsistence meals, if you will. I'll give him 2019 and the 2020 COVID year to make adaptation, as I think most would (but not the total pass that Shane was willing to give him).
But because of 2020 not being a normal year, the maturation of Neal Brown to Big Boy Football as a HC was retarded... (as in like ignition timing, not the un-pc other way). I think it took him another year to figure out that he can't coach this team like it's Troy. But that puts 2021 squarely on his shoulders! It's his fault!
Last year, even though it was a debacle, I think NB learned a lot from Graham Harrell being OC, if nothing else perhaps some game management skills that he was lacking. He's still not quite there, but he's gaining on it. He really needs more skills in utilizing timeouts.
All along the way he has been able to recruit quality players and transfers; a few misses along the way but generally good players. I think his personality initially appeals to parents more than players and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that a lot of the players who have transferred out had conflicts at home with where they chose to attend. Leave NIL out of it.
Anyway, I've seen a better Neal Brown so far this year than I've seen in the last three; forget the first year (again, not in a Shane way).
I feel like Browns play calling is the biggest weakness we have this season. This is his best overall team talent wise and there is no excuse for the lack of TDs. We should be putting up 30 per game easy. We finally have a good OL plus a stable of really good RBs. Talent at both WR and TE.
I think so as well cats might have 9 lives Wvu coach's get more than that especially at a 12-million-dollar buyout.
Doesnt seem like a team who actually wants to win a national championship. That goal seems to have left the building.
One would be to recruit QB's out of high school instead of re-treads year after year...thankfully he did
This is the first season since Obama was elected for his second term that WVU has a starting QB who they snagged from high school
Trickett (13,14)
S Howard (15,16)
W Grier (17,18)
A Kendall, J Allison (19)
J Doege (20,21)
JT Daniels (22)
Houston has 17 transfer starters...that doesn't work..this ain't playstation ...they have to learn new schemes, terminology, assignments...good programs don't do that
This is the first season since Obama was elected for his second term that WVU has a starting QB who they snagged from high school
Trickett (13,14)
S Howard (15,16)
W Grier (17,18)
A Kendall, J Allison (19)
J Doege (20,21)
JT Daniels (22)
Houston has 17 transfer starters...that doesn't work..this ain't playstation ...they have to learn new schemes, terminology, assignments...good programs don't do that
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Colorado is 3-2 and a miracle comeback against the Marshall equivalent in the state of Colorado from being 2-3, the jury is out on what Deion is doing. All we do know is he is really good at starting a media circus with more people watching a mediocre college team over some NFL games.
You know as well as I that the single loss to WVU is not why those teams finished unranked. You also know when a team starts the season ranked in the top 10 and finishes with 5 losses that none of those 5 teams have standing to say they beat one of the best 10 teams in the country. Finallt, I'm not sure why you are arguing this given it is a defense of Brown.
And you know everyone in the nation knows WVU beat a ranked opponent when played them. Thus considered a win over ranked team.
Believe what you want I just don't agree and never will.
In 2017 Neal Browns Troy team beat an Lsu team that finished 9-4. Lsu finished the season ranked 18th that year.
yeah I know he did that's one of the reasons most of us were so excited. But he hasn't beat anyone the finish the season with a winning record since he's coached for WVU. This year is the best chance of that. I would like to see Texas Tech and TCU do really good the rest of the year lol. But yeah it's a pretty pathetic stat and it doesn't seem real but it actually is. Which is a big reason why so many fans don't trust the climb even though we're having a good season right now. I mean we are wvu. We are no joke. We should be better than that lol
In 2019 He beat Kansas state they finished the season 8-5
In 2020 He beat Tcu they finished the season 6-4
In 2020 He beat Army they finished the season 9-4
In 2021 He beat Iowa State they finished the year 7-6
In 2022 He beat Oklahoma State they finished the season 7-6.
The Iowa State and Kansas State teams were ranked at the time Wvu beat Them.
It's about time someone Googled it lol. So he potentially has beat three to five teams that finish with the winning record in 4 years.
Regardless, Brown's record is not significantly better than Cignetti comparing their first 4 years. It is not unreasonable to say that prior to 2 days ago, Brown was as bad or worse.
Dana had some combo of 7, 8, 10 and 8 in his last 4 years, and I remember a lot of fans feeling like he wasnt the guy who was going to get us over the hump. What hump? I guess that would change from person to person, but imo, WVU is the caliber of team, based on history, that should be competing for the B12 title every year, and finishing lower than 3rd place should rarely happen. In fact, with OU and Texas leaving, WVU should be the class of the B12 now hands down. We have the winningest history I do believe. 5 years into Neal and a lot of folks seemed to have lowered their standard for some reason.
It’s mainly the buyout as to why fans seem to think he will be safe with 7 wins combined with the school dumping majors due to a financial crisis. However if Brown were to surprise with 9-10 wins it definitely wouldn’t suck.
In the new new Big XII it’s foolish to assert we are in a position to fill a void at the top of the conference. OK State, Utah, Baylor, TCU, Cincy are all hands down better quality programs in this era, then you have K State, UCF, UH, TT who we are sharing a tier with right now, plus a total wildcard with Colorado under Sanders. This is still a very deep conference and an uphill battle for us.
I’d say Utah is the team that may carry the Big12 torch. I don’t think anyone is giving them the respect. They’ve been at the top of the Pac12 with Oregon, Washington and USC. And KState is always good.
You would be wrong.
he has at least 1 a year and 1 year there were 2 while at WVU.
