What Should Expectations for WVU be in Year Three Under Neal Brown?

Neal Brown is entering his third year as the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers and expectations amongst the fanbase are beginning to grow large. The Mountaineers went 5-7 in 2019 and followed that up by going 6-4 in 2020 - a season that was shortened due to the pandemic.

Now that Brown is starting to see depth grow on both sides of the ball and has guys on the roster that buy into his vision for the program, it's time for West Virginia to take that next step.

How big of a step will they take?

Well, on the offensive side of the ball, WVU has a ton coming back. QB Jarret Doege enters his 2nd year as a starter, RB Leddie Brown in his 2nd year as the featured back, and receivers Bryce Ford-Wheaton, Sam James, and Winston Wright have all been in the program for multiple years and are ready to take their game to the next level. Not to mention, the offensive line finally has some continuity to it and even depth - something they didn't have in Brown's first two years.

Defensively, I look at West Virginia's defense as if they are returning eight starters even though it's technically only six. Akheem Mesidor wasn't in the starting lineup a year ago but led the team in sacks as a true freshman (5.5). He played a big role on the defense, so I count him as the seventh. Sure, losing Tykee Smith to the transfer portal hurts, but when you have Scottie Young filling in his place, you're in pretty good shape. Young was a three-year starter who played in 32 games for Arizona, starting 29 games and having more than 150 tackles, seven pass breakups, and five interceptions. Due to transfer rules, he was forced to sit out. With 29 starts under his belt, I consider him a returning starter as well.

Not only did the Mountaineers have the No. 1 passing defense in the country in 2020 but they also finished 4th nationally in total defense. With essentially eight starters returning and Jordan Lesley entering his 2nd year as the defensive coordinator, the Mountaineers should once again have a stifling defense.

When you look at where exactly West Virginia stacks up compared to the rest of the teams in the conference, it's not a stretch of the imagination to say that they could finish in the top three of four in the league. Heck, if the ball bounces their way a time or two and maybe steal a game from Oklahoma or Iowa State (more likely), they could position themselves for a spot in the Big 12 Championship game in Dallas.

Beyond Oklahoma and Iowa State, teams like Texas, Oklahoma State, TCU, and WVU will be fighting for that 3rd spot and could finish in just about any order. The good news is WVU gets three of the projected top five at home (Iowa State, Texas, Oklahoma State). If they can repeat the success that they had at Mountaineer Field in 2020 where they went 5-0, they will be in the conversation.

Getting bowl eligible shouldn't be the goal for this team. That's just simply not good enough. Even though every team's goal is to make it to the Big 12 title game, it shouldn't be the expectation either. Finishing the year around eight wins will be a sign that things are headed in the right direction.

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