Sunday Morning Thoughts: The Waco Wake Up Call
Another week, another loss in the books for the Neal Brown-led West Virginia Mountaineers. Since defeating Virginia Tech thanks to a goal line stand on September 18th, the Mountaineers have dropped three straight games, moving their record to 2-4 (0-3).
One week after Neal Brown felt "embarrassed" in their first half performance against Texas Tech, he talked extensively about starting this week's game with better energy and effort. Then the game happened. It started off very similar to the Texas Tech game but even worse. The defense allowed a 75-yard touchdown on the 2nd play of the game and on their first offensive snap, they were forced to call a timeout to avoid a delay of game. Those two plays alone set the tone for the day.
I'll just say this about the current state of the WVU football program, it's had brighter days. I understand the thinking that this is a multi-year rebuild and that a winner isn't going to be built overnight. But to be six games into year three and have the issues they have on a weekly basis, says a lot. It's one thing to lose games to teams that have more talent but talent is not the only thing missing. It's a lack of development, a lack of discipline, mismanagement of games, poor usage of timeouts, and much more. Even when the talent and depth get to Morgantown, I don't know that it will solve everything. It's the same mistakes week in and week out - there are just simply no adjustments being made. Throughout the course of the season, teams are expected to get better. That's not the case with this team. Heck, I'm not even sure if they are as good as they were in week one which of course, wasn't that great either. This team has regressed each week and the effort is not there. It has the look of a team that wants no part of being on the field. All of these things combined will make for a lost season and that's exactly what this year is for WVU.
As I stated last week, I don't see a path for West Virginia to get bowl eligible. To be honest, I don't even know if this team can beat anyone else on their schedule not named Kansas. The way I look at it is, Neal Brown is going to be on the hot seat heading into 2022. If things play out as I expect, he will have two losing seasons in the first three years on the job. It doesn't set up well for him in 2022 either. Jarret Doege isn't a great quarterback by any means but regardless of who starts next year, be it Garrett Greene, Will Crowder, or Nicco Marchiol, WVU will have a first-year starting quarterback. They will also have a first-year starting running back as Leddie Brown will be off to the NFL. On top of all that, West Virginia's non-conference schedule in 2022 consists of a pair of road games - at Pitt, at Virginia Tech. There's a good chance they will be out to a 1-2 start next season which will have Neal's seat scorching, considering that would be a pair of losses to rivals.
I don't know exactly how Neal Brown gets things turned around to give the fan base hope, I truly don't. It could start by giving Garrett Greene an opportunity to start because, why not? What does he have to lose at this point? Giving Greene the keys to the offense will show whether or not he is capable of being the long-term answer or if he will continue to just be a wrinkle in the offense. It's the same thinking at other positions too. Why is Justin Johnson Jr. just now getting touches at running back? He may not be as ready as you'd like for him to be but the only way for him to get better is to get in-game reps under his belt. How is Lanell Carr not being worked in at bandit? Prior to the season, Brown said that Carr was likely the team's most natural pass rusher. Is that really the case or is this just another evaluation that Brown got wrong? Brown also said that Jarret Doege was the team's most improved player in the offseason, yet he has taken several steps back. Brown's eye for talent or evaluation of talent I should say, is concerning. Especially if Carr isn't ready to play.
Development is a whole other thing. How is it that the same guys that either started or played a major role two years ago when he first arrived have not improved with the exception of Dante Stills and Leddie Brown? Three years with virtually the same guys and somehow, they managed to get blown out on the road at Baylor and are well on their way to a losing season.
Neal Brown is a good dude, don't get me wrong. But results matter. 13-15 isn't going to get the job done. If Brown wants to stay at West Virginia long-term, he's going to have to make some difficult decisions such as making some changes on the coaching staff and be okay with hiring an offensive coordinator to hand over the play-calling duties. When the formula you are using isn't working, you have to be willing to adapt and shake things up.
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