My Fiver on WVU's win over UCF on Saturday in Morgantown...
1. We kicked off to start the game!! Got the 3 & OUT, took an early lead, built on it after a turnover, and that was all the space we needed. I know Neal Brown is fixated on having the ball first now, but man, that was nice to kick off for once even though "D" is not necessarily our strength. Felt even better with a 21-7 lead going into the half knowing that we were set to receive the 2nd half kickoff.
2. Flipping the switch. This offense really lacks a sense of urgency, which has already been well documented and discussed on this Forum. I've labeled it the Vanilla Wafer offense, and really, if it were not for Garrett Greene's improvisation, we'd really struggle to score more than 21 a game. However, Neal Brown can dial up a play and illustrate a sense of urgency with success at time, such as the final five minutes vs. Kansas, the final drive at Baylor last year, etc. Saturday was another example. Faced with a 3rd & 11 on our final drive of the half, NB drew up a nice play where Garrett found Hudson Clement for a huge 26 yard gain. Faced with a key 4th and 3 at the end of the game, NB went to the same 4th down call which worked at Arizona, finding Justin Robinson for a 10-yard gain on a slant and a key first down (Incidentally, that play also would've converted a key 4th down vs. Kansas State, but Robinson flat out dropped a pass). It's just odd to me how Brown seems to relish time of possession, as opposed to running up the score. There are times where I can understand the time of possession stat being paramount, but it doesn't need to be the be-all, end-all. Brown really doesn't seem to call plays with any sense of urgency, but instead flips the switch when necessary, which isn't a great philosophy in today's game.
3. We really, really need help at WR in the offseason. I like Huddy, and I think Rodney Gallagher could be serviceable to good - great TD grab for #24 Saturday. But, goodness gracious...RicDarius Farmer has been a disappointment, ditto any freshmen WRs. BTW, I think Dom Collins was in on a play in the first half. I saw a #85 go out for a deep ball on a play where Garrett ended up being flushed from the pocket and running.
4. There is enough talent spread across this Defense that they should be better than the product we're seeing on the field. Reid Carrico is really coming on, and Trey Lathan and Josiah Trotter are playing very well. Fantastic open field tackle by Trotter on the UCF 4th down QB run late in the game. We have some young guys on the DL who I think are going to be really good as well. I don't know what our coaching situation is going to be in 2025, but either way, we need new blood at DC and Secondary Coach.
5. Neal Brown's home finale? Quite possibly. The chatter is picking up steam. Perhaps the money is there for the buyout to be negotiated. We still have a game in Lubbock and a bowl game to traverse. But, if you presume a 1-1 finish there (safe bet), 7-6 overall, then Neal will finish his career here 3 games over .500. It just isn't good enough. But, more than that, it wasn't the record...it's the way we've played. Inconsistent. Lack of explosiveness. Blowout losses, some of which occurred at home. And the real kicker for me was the Penn State game this year. What an opportunity, and we actually did have a bit of juice. We were a popular upset pick by many prognosticators. Fox Big Noon was in town with MGK. Pat McAfee was eating it up and made the trip into town to pump up the fan base.
And we just flat out no-showed. Fell flat on our face. The sequence where we recover a Drew Allar fumble, then lose a fumble on the very next play. The disasterous last 30 seconds of the first half.
The air came out of our fanbase's balloon that day. Then we did what we did at Pitt, and it was all but over. Time to move on, but make no mistake about it, this is a critical call by Wren Baker at a critical time. We need to nail this hire.
1. We kicked off to start the game!! Got the 3 & OUT, took an early lead, built on it after a turnover, and that was all the space we needed. I know Neal Brown is fixated on having the ball first now, but man, that was nice to kick off for once even though "D" is not necessarily our strength. Felt even better with a 21-7 lead going into the half knowing that we were set to receive the 2nd half kickoff.
2. Flipping the switch. This offense really lacks a sense of urgency, which has already been well documented and discussed on this Forum. I've labeled it the Vanilla Wafer offense, and really, if it were not for Garrett Greene's improvisation, we'd really struggle to score more than 21 a game. However, Neal Brown can dial up a play and illustrate a sense of urgency with success at time, such as the final five minutes vs. Kansas, the final drive at Baylor last year, etc. Saturday was another example. Faced with a 3rd & 11 on our final drive of the half, NB drew up a nice play where Garrett found Hudson Clement for a huge 26 yard gain. Faced with a key 4th and 3 at the end of the game, NB went to the same 4th down call which worked at Arizona, finding Justin Robinson for a 10-yard gain on a slant and a key first down (Incidentally, that play also would've converted a key 4th down vs. Kansas State, but Robinson flat out dropped a pass). It's just odd to me how Brown seems to relish time of possession, as opposed to running up the score. There are times where I can understand the time of possession stat being paramount, but it doesn't need to be the be-all, end-all. Brown really doesn't seem to call plays with any sense of urgency, but instead flips the switch when necessary, which isn't a great philosophy in today's game.
3. We really, really need help at WR in the offseason. I like Huddy, and I think Rodney Gallagher could be serviceable to good - great TD grab for #24 Saturday. But, goodness gracious...RicDarius Farmer has been a disappointment, ditto any freshmen WRs. BTW, I think Dom Collins was in on a play in the first half. I saw a #85 go out for a deep ball on a play where Garrett ended up being flushed from the pocket and running.
4. There is enough talent spread across this Defense that they should be better than the product we're seeing on the field. Reid Carrico is really coming on, and Trey Lathan and Josiah Trotter are playing very well. Fantastic open field tackle by Trotter on the UCF 4th down QB run late in the game. We have some young guys on the DL who I think are going to be really good as well. I don't know what our coaching situation is going to be in 2025, but either way, we need new blood at DC and Secondary Coach.
5. Neal Brown's home finale? Quite possibly. The chatter is picking up steam. Perhaps the money is there for the buyout to be negotiated. We still have a game in Lubbock and a bowl game to traverse. But, if you presume a 1-1 finish there (safe bet), 7-6 overall, then Neal will finish his career here 3 games over .500. It just isn't good enough. But, more than that, it wasn't the record...it's the way we've played. Inconsistent. Lack of explosiveness. Blowout losses, some of which occurred at home. And the real kicker for me was the Penn State game this year. What an opportunity, and we actually did have a bit of juice. We were a popular upset pick by many prognosticators. Fox Big Noon was in town with MGK. Pat McAfee was eating it up and made the trip into town to pump up the fan base.
And we just flat out no-showed. Fell flat on our face. The sequence where we recover a Drew Allar fumble, then lose a fumble on the very next play. The disasterous last 30 seconds of the first half.
The air came out of our fanbase's balloon that day. Then we did what we did at Pitt, and it was all but over. Time to move on, but make no mistake about it, this is a critical call by Wren Baker at a critical time. We need to nail this hire.
