Week Five: What We've Learned

We didn't learn much this past week. Your average fan during the bye week rarely walks away with any vital information and it's even rarer to feel like your team accomplished anything monumental by NOT playing football.

But for West Virginia and head coach Neal Brown, the Mountaineers' bye week not only served as time for players to heal and recollect, it allowed this young team to grow and mature.

Here's what we learned during week five.

West Virginia's Freshmen are going to play...a lot

To be fair, we knew Brown planned on playing his freshmen more than the average head coach would allow. Part of that is due to necessity and it's partly due to Brown's philosophy. If young guys are ready, it makes sense to throw them out there and see what they can do. It's also important to note that under the new redshirt rule, a player is allowed to participate in four games during a season and still redshirt. And seeing how we're entering game five of the season and guys like Ali Jennings, Winston Wright Jr. and Tykee Smith can be found sprinkled throughout the initial AND revised depth chart for week six against Texas, it's clear Brown is sticking to his guns and playing his talented freshmen.

The Mountaineers NEED our help

Yes, West Virginia and coach Brown need your help. Not too long ago, Milan Puskar Stadium prided itself as one of the toughest places in the country for opponents to visit and steal a win. Recently, however, a disappearing student section has somewhat hindered what is usually a hostile crowd. Explaining why this happens and the consequences that could ensue is another story altogether. The truth is, with nationally ranked Texas and its uber-recognizable brand coming to the Mountain State, it should go without saying that in order for the Mountaineers to pull off the upset, it will need some assistance from its ravage fan base. Neal Brown himself understands winning on Saturday will be a collective effort.

"We're going to need our crowd. We're going to need our students. I hope they show up in big numbers. I hope they stay. We're going to need them."

Show up, be loud and do so for the entirety of the contest.

Neal Brown has been here before

Personally, I'm not sure what is going to transpire on Saturday against Texas, and luckily I wasn't tasked with predicting the outcome. Yet the more I chew it over, the more I find myself recalling Brown's Troy teams of yesteryear traveling to LSU or Nebraska and coming away with upset wins over college football's traditional powers. Minus Texas, West Virginia fans are uncomfortably familiar with succumbing to the Big XII's elite programs. Brown has proven he knows what it takes to overcome that mountain.

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