Nikki Izzo brown. Saw a Flying Luggage tag beside me and gave the customary let’s go and she looked up . Nice lady . She is out recruiting.

It doesn't matter what you think of Neal, this is an odd pick.

No more student athletes...schools need to just hire players in several sports...No need to enroll in school.

Percent of capacity for the past 10 years on a 60k capacity. This could be Brown's second best year in attendance, but still a far cry from the years prior to his arrival.

--West Virginia head coach Neal Brown said he gave everybody Sunday and Monday off and right now he doesn't have any update on the injuries.

--The Mountaineers played well on special teams. On defense, the front has played very well and they started strong on the road. West Virginia was very poor in the fourth quarter and the pass defense hasn't been good enough. They tried some different things and it just hasn't been very good. He doesn't want to take away from how good the wide receiver is for them and the quarterback keeps plays alive but they haven't been good enough in pass coverage. Offensively, they controlled the game and played under control and didn't have a big negative play. They mixed up the run game and were really balanced and continued to be good on third down and scored touchdowns in the red zone. The Mountaineers tried to minimize the possessions in the game and were able to do that. Brown was pleased with the two first downs on the last drive was huge not to give them the football back. It was a good win and there is a huge November coming up with two at home and two on the road. All four teams are similar and there's a lot to play for in November.

--West Virginia will recruit this weekend and then start Cincinnati prep Monday.

--Garrett Greene is still struggling a little bit. It's not worth talking about at quarterback until he is healthy. Wyatt Milum is making progress and will be back at practice this week. Aubrey Burks they don't know but at this point Ayden Garnes is likely still out. Keke Tarnue will be touch and go and depends on how he heals. CJ Donaldson it will be a see how he does this week. Kyle Altuner put on pads for the first time last week and they believe he can do Monday night football this week. Corey McIntyre has done a great job in rehab but he's about two more weeks away. Eddie Vesterinen is going to take a redshirt. He played in four games and they're going to use that and he'll be full go in January.

--Snaps will continue to increase for Zae Jennings and Israel Boyce is another. They both have a bright future.

--Brown said he hasn't seen Garrett Greene and it would be too early in the week to say if he would be able to play if there was a game this week.

--Nicco Marchiol made good decisions in the run game and was efficient on third downs. He is so much better than where he was in his last start against Texas Tech. He has worked a lot and has continued to make progress there.

--The best way for Brown to answer the quarterback decision is he can't give an answer until Greene is healthy. Brown doesn't have any long term answer. It's a work in progress, you don't lose jobs for being injured but has Nicco Marchiol played well enough to get some playing time? Yes, but as far as starter they aren't talking about that right now.

--It's hard to play two because quarterback is a rhythm position. It doesn't mean it can't be done but it is hard on the quarterbacks. The rest of the offense is comfortable for both guys and the biggest difference is the right to left handed.

--They could have checked out of the fake field goal but it's a similar scheme to what they've done in other situations. Credit to Tony Thompson it's his field goal fake.

--Leighton Bechdel is a good teammate and they are thankful for him for hanging around. He could have easily left the program and went somewhere else but he has attacked his role. He was the backup long snapper in the game and could kickoff, can punt and has done a great job holding. They had a poor snap on the PAT off the fake and he pulled it up and held it. Field goal percentage has been high and he is a part of that.

--You make your decision on the fake field goal during the week. They got a holding penalty on the first drive of the game so they kicked that. Brown said he still wanted to run the fake so if they get in another opportunity they wanted to use it. On the pass to Anderson, Brown felt that Arizona was starting to move the ball and figure out some things that they were doing. Brown said that last offensive drive they wanted to make sure they didn't get the ball back. They had a play called for zone and they checked to the man play and Marchiol executed it.

--Officiating needs to be consistent. The Kole Taylor call was a borderline, but they didn't call that against Arizona in a similar situation.

--Nicco Marchiol handled the ball well with the snaps and it's an issue. Brandon Yates is doing some nice things, but the snaps are a concern.

--Zae Jennings and Israel Boyce will be next man up at spear if Aubrey Burks and Keke Tarnue can't go.

--West Virginia will have the same recipe during the first bye week with scrimmaging the young guys, getting rested and getting ready for a November run.

--Brown said they lost one guy but he likes the class there's some pieces they'll add. They want another o linemen, a d lineman, a skill guy in the back end defensively and at the offensive position too somebody that is good with the ball in their hands.

--Not good defense with the Tampa 2 with Trey Lathan. If West Virginia gets to the quarterback on the first one it's a non-issue, but they never should have put him in that position again. What happens is when you're struggling you're trying to find answers, but the answers aren't good. West Virginia was late to line up and you can see that. Brown can use timeouts on defense, but what he tries to do is save them until the end because timeouts are really valuable. Last couple years they haven't used them to save a procedural penalty. The explosive touchdown plays weren't the issue with alignment, but there were several plays they weren't aligned right.

--When things aren't going well you continue to change up what you're doing but when you do that the other teams have good coaches, too. You're figuring out one aspect but coaches will adjust, too.

… is that Yates still has the Yips! Thankfully Nicco is 6’2 and was able to snag them before going over his head but with GG those are going to be big losses. Is anything being done to getting Livingston some reps? This just can’t happen. It F’s up the entire timing of the play. I did notice Nicco under center more this game which may have been the adjustment but Yates is just not getting it done and he’s hurting the team. It was definitely better but it’s not fixed.

He knows how to let shitty teams stay in the game. Felt like the pitt game all over again.

#BeanBall

For schools that fired their coaches…

Michigan State hired Smith on November 25th.

Texas A&M hired Elko on November 27th.

Syracuse hired Brown on November 28th.

Indiana hired Cignetti on November 30th.

Houston hired Fritz on December 3rd.

Tick tock.

Does the AD love Neal Brown? -- heck no.... Would they like him to win 7 .... yes because they can save a lot of money by retaining him one more year... Do they want to retain him from a production stand point? No --- but they do from a financial stand point. 6 wins puts them in a huge bind and I think they'll let him go even with the cost.....

Until then (as I keep telling my 20 year old kid who wants everyone fired every minute) --- just let it play out.... no need for banners or signs.... Trust Wren Baker to might the right call.

As I also told my kid --- in reality I don't see them getting 7 wins so he probably still gets fired.

Any other season, going on the road and beating Arizona would have at least produced 72 hours of happiness. It would have been fun. We would have had something to celebrate.

But we have crossed the line where that isn’t even possible anymore.

Mountaineer Football is suppose to be fun. Something to put a little joy into our lives. And we can’t even enjoy a win because we all feel like it is fools gold or meaningless towards the end result.

There is a lot of talk about Wren needing to watch the declining numbers in the stands as a barometer.

Well he needs to watch this Board. These are the people that are buying the tickets. Making the donations. These are your hard core fans. And if we can’t find any joy in a win like Saturday (and I don’t see much on the board), you are really going to have a hard time with the average fan come renewal time next year.

HARRISONBURG, Va. (Oct. 27, 2024) – The No. 6 West Virginia University men’s soccer team earned a point against James Madison with a 2-2 draw at Sentara Park, Sunday evening. The Mountaineers go to 10-1-4 on the season while JMU is now 7-2-6.

West Virginia remains on top of the Sun Belt Standings with a 5-0-2 record in conference play and 17 points, two ahead of Marshall.

Junior Marcus Caldeira and freshman Isaac Scheer each scored for the Mountaineers with Caldeira and graduate student Sergio Ors Navarro both collecting assists.

Overall, the Mountaineers outshot James Madison, 17-8, including a 7-4 edge in shots on goal. WVU also held a 6-4 advantage on corner kicks.

In the first half, West Virginia outshot JMU, 6-2, but the best chance before the break came in the 13th minute for JMU as Evan Southern’s shot hit the post.

With the game still scoreless into the second half, the Dukes took the lead in the 54th minute.

The Mountaineers looked for the equalizer and found it in the 71st minute as Ors Navarro laid off the ball for a streaking Caldeira with a back heel pass. The Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year knew what to do, firing a left-footed shoto on his first touch around the keeper and into the back of the net.

Caldeira nearly gave the Mountaineers the lead in the 75th minute, but his shot was saved and then bounced down off the crossbar before being cleared away.

West Virginia kept attacking and Scheer delivered for the Mountaineers in the 83rd minute, taking a pass from Caldeira and getting a shot off just before the defender slid in with a tackle. The JMU goalkeeper got a foot on the ball but could not keep it out of the net as WVU took a 2-1 lead.

With James Madison now down, the Dukes earned a free kick in the 88th minute. Kevin Larsson, who scored the first goal of the game, curled in a ball toward the box that snuck its way into corner of the net as no player on either side got a foot or head on it.

The Mountaineers will be back home for Senior Night on Thursday evening against Coastal Carolina. Kickoff from Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is set for 7 p.m.

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

I did this quickly so I could be off but..

Opponent's Records

WVU's wins - 3-5, 3-5, 2-6, 3-5

WVU's losses - 7-0, 7-0, 7-0, 7-1

Just like the election.