My Fiver on the State of WVU football and where we go from here...
1. After the 2018 year end meltdown, WVU Nation had had enough of the Dana Holgorsen football era, primarily because WVU football is not WVU football without a Defense. While WVU Nation was already "over" the Neal Brown football era before this past Saturday, the absolutely pathetic showing by WVU's Defense, on top of other embarrassing defensive performances in 2024, has dialed the meter up from "over it" to "furious borderline livid" with regard to our fans. 127th in passing yards allowed (out of 133), 101st in TO Margin, 115th in Turnovers gained, 117th in INTs, 128th in passing efficiency defense, 99th in total defense. Would things have been better with Vic Koennig? Probably so. But, the buck stops at the top and we have a Vanilla wafer offense with no defense. It's not a good combination.
2. As for the remainder of 2024...what are we playing to accomplish? Our stated goals of making the Playoff - gone. Winning the Big 12 - gone. Making the Big 12 Championship - gone. So, I guess we are playing for bowl eligibility, for whatever that is worth. For me, it's about cheering for the laundry and not the man, as our text group hears from me a lot. I want WVU to beat UCF, and I really can't stand losing to Texas Tech. We only get 12 of these football games a year, and a WVU win, no matter the circumstances, always puts a smile on my face (although Neal Brown's ability to make even the wins excruciating at times challenges that notion) I'm driving in to Motown for the game Saturday in what looks to be glorious ideal autumn weather (🥶).
3. For the Rich Rod crowd, I will say this...he was a hell of a coach during his time at WVU. It was a fantastic hire. He lit things up at Glenville, and it was novel. He proved himself at Tulane and Clemson as OC, and we had a firebrand. Now? His offense and system are no longer novel. And that is why he did not replicate his success at WVU at Michigan nor at Arizona. I understand he is having modest success at Jax State. That said...why is he not mentioned for any coaching openings...except ours? Personally, I hope we hire another up and coming OC from another school, who is eager to prove himself and set the world on fire, just like Rich did in 2002-2007. However, if we do hire Rich, then I'll don my "Spot the Ball" T-shirt and cheer my ass off for the guy. He will split the fanbase if hired, so I'll say this...if he is hired, he better win and win fast. If he comes here and replicates Neal's 7-5, 6-6, 5-7 deals...then it will be ugly (and frankly, embarrassing).
4. The Decision. NB's Contract and Buyout have put WVU in a horrible position. Yes, the right thing to do is fire Neal Brown...but then you bring the notion of paying the man $16M of our hard-earned dollars to not work....and a rational individual will understand the notion of keeping him for another year to try to work out the kinks, fund NIL, and buy time to reduce the buy out. It's times like these that people in lofty positions need to earn their keep, and here's looking at you, Wren Baker. It's a pickle. On one hand, he fires Neal Brown, and becomes a hero to a majority of the fanbase. If he goes this route, I certainly hope that the replacement has already been contacted, vetted, and is ready to jump quickly. However, with this option, it's costly as hell at a time when money is critically important. We will suffer losses of personnel in NIL, and perhaps won't be able to staff the new HC with the assistants he wants and needs. On the other hand, he keeps Neal Brown, and becomes Enemy #1 of the fanbase (OK, maybe Enemy #2). Perhaps the stadium is half empty for Ohio U to start the year (it will still be full for the Brawl). Our record will surely once again be 6-6 or so, and it'll be another "blah" year. However, we'll be able to be financially sound, and perhaps in a better position to make a move in 2025 - with more time to vet candidates. It's going to be interesting to watch this play out.
5. The Future. WVU has been up and down since winning that huge game in Austin, TX in 2012, and has seemingly been floundering in football since the 2nd half meltdown in Stillwater in 2018. However, this is a winning football program with a rich football history, flirtations with national championships, Heisman trophy candidates, and football legends like Talley, Hoss, Major, Amos, Pac Man, Pat, Steve, Noel, Tavon, Geno to just name a few. We shouldn't accept this mediocrity. The standard should be a team which is in the upper echelon of this new Big 12 and contends for the title each year, much like WVU did in the Big East. (The Big East was a much better conference than this new watered down Big 12) Watching teams like Iowa State, Kansas State and Colorado zip by WVU in the conference standings, including coming to Morgantown to win football games without breaking much of a sweat, is unacceptable.
We're better than this. It's beyond time to show it.
