Will Neal Brown Still Be On the Hot Seat Even After A Good Start?

Aug 21, 2023

MORGANTOWN, WV—-Should West Virginia Head football coach Neal Brown still be on the hot seat if by some miracle the Mountaineers start the season 3-0 by upsetting Penn State then beating Pitt and of course knocking off Duquesne? It’s all possible!

Let’s go back in time to when the Troy Trojans under the coaching of Brown went to Baton Rouge as a three touchdown underdog. Brown went into Death Valley and came out with a 24-21 upset victory. The Trojans ran for much of the night on the ground. The Trojans only threw for 157 yards in taking down the Tigers and ran it 42 times compared to only 28 pass attempts. They grinded out the clock , there were no trick plays.

On September 2, Brown and company will take his Mountaineers to “Happy Valley” as two or maybe even three touchdown underdogs similar to the LSU – Troy game at “Death Valley.” Brown has worked on his special teams. The turnover margin will be a big factor along with return yardage at noisy Beaver Stadium.

When Troy beat LSU under Brown they were plus 2 in turnover margin and allowed zero punt return yardage. Can the Mountaineers be up to the challenge? I believe the team is ready. I’ve covered sports for two daily papers and WBOY TV since 1971. One of my press jobs was in Bedford Pennsylvania which covered Penn State football. I honestly have witnessed some crazy games in 52 years of coverage. This game will be close and go down to the last few minutes.

If we beat Penn State, expect to be 3-0 rolling into the Texas Tech game on September 23.