Opinion
Asti: A Win Over No. 11 Iowa State Would Be Biggest for Neal Brown at WVU
There’s no denying the magnitude of West Virginia’s upcoming game against Iowa State, both for the Mountaineers and head coach Neal Brown.
A night game in Morgantown takes any matchup to another level for fans. Couple the time of day with the fact the Cyclones are ranked (No. 11 by the Associated Press), the new Coal Rush uniform will debut and the Big 12 implications and this game becomes the most important for Brown yet at WVU.
Brown has a 69-47 overall record in his career as a coach, but sits just barely above water with the Mountaineers at 34-31. While he has won some big games, he certainly hasn’t won enough of them. And while much of Brown’s tenure has included playing more Power 4 (previously Power 5) opponents than most programs, he’s well aware the fans don’t want to hear excuses, they just want to win.
As far as the “big” wins for Brown to date, he does have a few victories over ranked teams – No. 24 Kansas State in 2019, No. 16 Kansas State again the next year and No. 22 Iowa State in 2021. In addition to those games, Brown also has memorable wins like WVU’s only victory against Oklahoma while both were in the Big 12 together, edging out Baylor under the lights in 2022, a home Backyard Brawl win from 2023, multiple claims to the Black Diamond Trophy over Virginia Tech and of course, lifting the Duke’s Mayo Bowl trophy in Charlotte, N.C. after beating North Carolina.
But as much as those wins were nice moments and big deals at the time, granted some more than others upon reflection, it’s tough for fans to ignore the key losses as well. A bowl game loss to Minnesota came as West Virginia seemed unprepared, both the 2022 and 2024 losses to Pitt are tough pills for Mountaineer Nation to ever swallow, a loss to Kansas in the second game of the 2022 season set the tone for a disastrous season overall and there are others as well.
A win on Saturday over an Iowa State team considered a national contender won’t make up for past losses or make anyone forget what’s happened throughout a now six-year stretch that is factually the worst for the WVU football program since prior to Don Nehlen’s arrival in 1980. However, it will be Brown’s biggest win to date.
If West Virginia wins, the 2024 Cyclones will become the highest ranked team Brown beat, not only at WVU, but at any point in his coaching career. Brown led Troy to an historic 2017 win over a then No. 25 LSU team. He has publicly referred to that win as what put him on the national map and eventually earned him a job like leading the West Virginia Mountaineers.
And even more important than what the win would mean for Brown career wise, it would offer WVU a cushion as they embark on the rest of the conference schedule. A win on Saturday would move West Virginia to 4-2 on the year, but 3-0 in the Big 12, which is all that really matters at this point. New to this season, a conference title earns a team an automatic spot in the College Football Playoff, making a trip to Dallas for the Big 12 Championship Game an opportunity for a legitimate shot to pursue a national championship despite a losing record in non conference play.
Nothing is guaranteed, but a 3-0 start to the conference schedule would put the Mountaineers in the driver’s seat to be in the thick of the Big 12 race all season long, and that was the vocalized goal of the program for the year throughout the offseason.
There’s even an outside chance that beating the No. 11 team in the country warrants a national ranking for West Virginia. In that scenario, WVU would only have losses to two ranked opponents who both enter the week undefeated.
Information about the game:
The Mountaineers 3-2 (2-0, Big 12) and Cyclones 5-0 (2-0, Big 12) are set to kickoff at 8 pm ET on Oct. 12. WVU will debut their new Coal Rush uniform under the Milan Puskar Stadium lights. WVU is considered a slight underdog going into the game.
The Saturday night atmosphere will also serve as the backdrop to Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht’s father Anthony being honored. Former Mountaineer Anthony Becht was unable to attend his induction into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame and will be honored when his son is in town.
Both WVU and Iowa State are among five remaining undefeated teams in the Big 12 standings. Iowa State is coming off a 43-21 win over Baylor.
For a related story, Mike Asti and Ethan Bock discussed what a win over Iowa State would mean for WVU and Neal Brown on an episode of Mountaineer Report.
Ranking used in this article are from the Associated Press. The Coaches Poll and any other selector may differ.