--West Virginia head coach Neal Brown said he was proud of his team for responding and they played a lot of guys but would have liked to play even more. Albany is a good FCS team. Team wise, West Virginia lost the game in the middle eight against Penn State and it's where the game got away from them. This week they were much improved there. On special teams, Brown wasn't fired up about the field goal block team and the field goal team needs to be better. On kickoff they didn't kick the ball well enough and the kickoff return team muffed one to start. The positives is Oliver Straw is really punting the ball well and team speed is showing. Kickoff return they had one really good return and on punt block they had an explosive return. Defensively, pass coverage and corners didn't play well enough and drops were off with spears and linebackers. Positives they were good on fourth down and in the red zone and they allowed only 68 yards in the game. Offensively, the fumble was the big negative which is the fourth turnover in only two games and needs to be fixed. They had two unproductive drives the turnover and the three and out and those both led to 14-points. West Virginia was efficient passing the ball and they had 305 yards rushing. The Mountaineers were 5-6 on end of possession downs in the game. They scored touchdowns all five times in the red zone.
--Offensive lineman of the week was Wyatt Milum. Special teams player of the week was Ben Cutter. Defensive Player of the week was Reid Carrico. Offensive player of the week was CJ Donaldson. Blue collar award was Fatorma Mulbah on defense and offense Nick Malone and Treylan Davis. Greg Genross was a developmental player of the week on offense and on defense it was Curtis Jones and special teams it was Donovan Grayson.
--Huge game and one the fan base circles. One of the best rivalries in all of college sports and first time back since the disappointment in 2022. He respects the rivalry and Pittsburgh is playing well they are 2-0 and haven't played their best. They're going to have a lot of confidence going into the game. Special teams new coordinator from Miami (Oh.). Have a really good kicker, he hit the game winner and a high touch back percentage. Punt returner is the running back Desmond Reid he has been electric. Kickoff return Kenny Johnson is a really good player and they are aggressive. Offensively complete 180 they changed coordinators and they've gone all in they are high tempo and are playing as fast as anybody. They are balanced and the quarterback is really efficient. He will be excited watching the tape because quarterbacks have been able to run against West Virginia. They find a bunch of ways to get Reid the ball and he's really fast and a tough tackle. Play a lot of wide receivers and they can run. The tight end has been there for a long time and a pass receiving threat and their offensive tackles are playing well. They have a lot of confidence you can see it on their tape. On defense it's a typical Pitt defense. They play a lot of match man. The defensive line is really well coached and defensively No. 9 is making a bunch of plays and has been all over the field and both safeties are playing at a high level and they're going to put their corners on our wide outs and it's a big match up in the game. It's another opportunity for West Virginia to be in a rivalry game.
--Crowd will be into the game it's a great atmosphere. There is a lot of familiarity they know a lot of guys on the West Virginia roster and vice versa. This is extremely important to the fans and the West Virginia team knows that. It's about getting to 2-1 and getting a win to get into conference play. This is a tough opponent and from here on out, West Virginia will play a tough team each week.
--McMillian for Pitt had a bunch of tackles last year and they knew him out of high school. He is a physical kid and the other safety is good too McIntyre.
--Reid is a really fast, he's quick and a tough tackle. He's got good lower body strength and they take wide splits and he's had a lot of space the first two weeks.
--The biggest lesson is play better. They have to play a lot better. You learn when things don't go your way and they corrected some mistakes and they have to continue. It's the next opportunity to go out on a big stage and perform better.
--Brown thinks there will be a West Virginia presence, what percentage has no idea. There isn't a lot of positive memories for him from the last time he was there.
--Brown said at pass coverage they had to play with better technique and trying to do too much at corner. They didn't play good team defense and the underneath droppers weren't where they need to be. They have firm rules where they need to be and they weren't there. It's disappointing and correctable.
--Pitt has a redshirt freshman quarterback and Cincinnati went to the three safety defense which is unique. Not as many teams in the ACC running it and it takes some time so he was pushing the ball down the field early and figured it out and then created some explosive plays with his legs in the second half. They broke some tackles and got the ball to Reid.
--Itf Eddie Vesterinen is not able to go, TJ Jackson will get the start and they'll miss his leadership but they've got guys up there. Sean Martin has some flexibility to play field and boundary. Hammond Russell's role will increase. They've got a room there they have enough guys.
--Defensively Pitt is who they are because they've played quality defense for a long time and from a structure standpoint they can align and regardless of the pieces they have they can move the pieces around especially on the defensive line. Special teams and offense is different.
--Nate Gabriel is going to continue to play he's big enough and got some good push. They're going to have some competition there for some reps at cornerback.
--Anthony Wilson has flashed and Jaheem Joseph has been consistent. Keke Tarnue played a lot better in game two than game one. They have to continue to get better at all those positions in the secondary.
--Wyatt Milum is one of the better tackles in college football and Nick Malone played well made some critical errors in the Penn State game but played much better this past week. He moved well and has played a bunch of snaps at tight end. Johnny Williams has played and Xavier Bausley has to get stronger but Brown feels good about his tackle position in the future.
--You have to handle movement and they are going to move their front. They are playing a little different up front than they have. The thing that sticks out is they play really hard. They do a nice job with their edge pressure. He's creating a lot of the pressure. You have to handle the movement up front and their pressure.
--They're playing really fast and using wide splits on offense but the tempo is fast.
--Brown said it's a series that needs to be played. It's important. Both teams want to play it and college football is so up in the air, it makes sense for West Virginia to play the game. Great proximity, TV audience the fans on both sides are excited about it. To Brown it's Pitt, FCS and a group of five and preferably of getting the FCS and group of five games at home.
--It takes a ton of commitment to change what you're doing offensively like Pitt has done. This is totally unique for him and all the assistants on the offensive side are connected to Coach Bell and they are committed to it. He isn't tipping his toes in it, he's all in.
--Brown thinks you can play fast and play complementary football on the other side. If you're not making first downs and you're playing fast you put your defense at a disadvantage.
--Brown said what the other team does on offense will determine how many snaps Rodney Gallagher plays on defense. He's getting better every week and has some natural coverage skills. Brown is excited to watch him grow and offensively he just missed a couple big explosive plays Saturday. His snaps on offense and how they get him touches will continue to evolve.
--Pitt is going to line Reid up a bunch of different places and your pursuit angle has to be on point. You have to do a good job pursuing the football and have a good angles.
--Brown said he starts looking at teams in May and he revisits notes and then Sunday starts thinking about what this opening plays will be and put them in and build the script from there.
--Offensive lineman of the week was Wyatt Milum. Special teams player of the week was Ben Cutter. Defensive Player of the week was Reid Carrico. Offensive player of the week was CJ Donaldson. Blue collar award was Fatorma Mulbah on defense and offense Nick Malone and Treylan Davis. Greg Genross was a developmental player of the week on offense and on defense it was Curtis Jones and special teams it was Donovan Grayson.
--Huge game and one the fan base circles. One of the best rivalries in all of college sports and first time back since the disappointment in 2022. He respects the rivalry and Pittsburgh is playing well they are 2-0 and haven't played their best. They're going to have a lot of confidence going into the game. Special teams new coordinator from Miami (Oh.). Have a really good kicker, he hit the game winner and a high touch back percentage. Punt returner is the running back Desmond Reid he has been electric. Kickoff return Kenny Johnson is a really good player and they are aggressive. Offensively complete 180 they changed coordinators and they've gone all in they are high tempo and are playing as fast as anybody. They are balanced and the quarterback is really efficient. He will be excited watching the tape because quarterbacks have been able to run against West Virginia. They find a bunch of ways to get Reid the ball and he's really fast and a tough tackle. Play a lot of wide receivers and they can run. The tight end has been there for a long time and a pass receiving threat and their offensive tackles are playing well. They have a lot of confidence you can see it on their tape. On defense it's a typical Pitt defense. They play a lot of match man. The defensive line is really well coached and defensively No. 9 is making a bunch of plays and has been all over the field and both safeties are playing at a high level and they're going to put their corners on our wide outs and it's a big match up in the game. It's another opportunity for West Virginia to be in a rivalry game.
--Crowd will be into the game it's a great atmosphere. There is a lot of familiarity they know a lot of guys on the West Virginia roster and vice versa. This is extremely important to the fans and the West Virginia team knows that. It's about getting to 2-1 and getting a win to get into conference play. This is a tough opponent and from here on out, West Virginia will play a tough team each week.
--McMillian for Pitt had a bunch of tackles last year and they knew him out of high school. He is a physical kid and the other safety is good too McIntyre.
--Reid is a really fast, he's quick and a tough tackle. He's got good lower body strength and they take wide splits and he's had a lot of space the first two weeks.
--The biggest lesson is play better. They have to play a lot better. You learn when things don't go your way and they corrected some mistakes and they have to continue. It's the next opportunity to go out on a big stage and perform better.
--Brown thinks there will be a West Virginia presence, what percentage has no idea. There isn't a lot of positive memories for him from the last time he was there.
--Brown said at pass coverage they had to play with better technique and trying to do too much at corner. They didn't play good team defense and the underneath droppers weren't where they need to be. They have firm rules where they need to be and they weren't there. It's disappointing and correctable.
--Pitt has a redshirt freshman quarterback and Cincinnati went to the three safety defense which is unique. Not as many teams in the ACC running it and it takes some time so he was pushing the ball down the field early and figured it out and then created some explosive plays with his legs in the second half. They broke some tackles and got the ball to Reid.
--Itf Eddie Vesterinen is not able to go, TJ Jackson will get the start and they'll miss his leadership but they've got guys up there. Sean Martin has some flexibility to play field and boundary. Hammond Russell's role will increase. They've got a room there they have enough guys.
--Defensively Pitt is who they are because they've played quality defense for a long time and from a structure standpoint they can align and regardless of the pieces they have they can move the pieces around especially on the defensive line. Special teams and offense is different.
--Nate Gabriel is going to continue to play he's big enough and got some good push. They're going to have some competition there for some reps at cornerback.
--Anthony Wilson has flashed and Jaheem Joseph has been consistent. Keke Tarnue played a lot better in game two than game one. They have to continue to get better at all those positions in the secondary.
--Wyatt Milum is one of the better tackles in college football and Nick Malone played well made some critical errors in the Penn State game but played much better this past week. He moved well and has played a bunch of snaps at tight end. Johnny Williams has played and Xavier Bausley has to get stronger but Brown feels good about his tackle position in the future.
--You have to handle movement and they are going to move their front. They are playing a little different up front than they have. The thing that sticks out is they play really hard. They do a nice job with their edge pressure. He's creating a lot of the pressure. You have to handle the movement up front and their pressure.
--They're playing really fast and using wide splits on offense but the tempo is fast.
--Brown said it's a series that needs to be played. It's important. Both teams want to play it and college football is so up in the air, it makes sense for West Virginia to play the game. Great proximity, TV audience the fans on both sides are excited about it. To Brown it's Pitt, FCS and a group of five and preferably of getting the FCS and group of five games at home.
--It takes a ton of commitment to change what you're doing offensively like Pitt has done. This is totally unique for him and all the assistants on the offensive side are connected to Coach Bell and they are committed to it. He isn't tipping his toes in it, he's all in.
--Brown thinks you can play fast and play complementary football on the other side. If you're not making first downs and you're playing fast you put your defense at a disadvantage.
--Brown said what the other team does on offense will determine how many snaps Rodney Gallagher plays on defense. He's getting better every week and has some natural coverage skills. Brown is excited to watch him grow and offensively he just missed a couple big explosive plays Saturday. His snaps on offense and how they get him touches will continue to evolve.
--Pitt is going to line Reid up a bunch of different places and your pursuit angle has to be on point. You have to do a good job pursuing the football and have a good angles.
--Brown said he starts looking at teams in May and he revisits notes and then Sunday starts thinking about what this opening plays will be and put them in and build the script from there.
