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Four Downs With Neal Brown | ‘Nobody’s More Frustrated Than Me.’

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WVU Football Neal Brown and Garrett Greene

Following a flop to Texas Tech at home, West Virginia football head coach Neal Brown spoke with the media on Tuesday to discuss the previous game and what’s to come from Baylor on Saturday.

Brown Talks Frustration and Lack of Consistency

Brown didn’t take any time in talking about the 2-3 start in his opener during his press conference on Tuesday.

“We lack consistency. I think that’s been pretty clear,” Brown said.

WVU struggled against a Texas Tech team that allowed 70 points to Texas the week prior. The Mountaineers had to score 20 points in the second half after the offense not showing up until the third quarter. Brown knows the consistency is not there but wants the goal to be to put a full game together.

“We’ve yet to put a whole game together, and it’s frustrating,” Brown said. “Our fans are frustrated and I get it, nobody’s more frustrated than me. Our first half versus Texas Tech was inexcusable.”

The Offensive Timeouts Are on Brown

Ever since Brown arrived at West Virginia, critics have discussed his timeout decisions. During the second half last week, Brown called two timeouts while the offense struggled to get on the same page.

“The first one [timeout] was totally my fault,” Brown said. “The way we we’re doing this is I basically got a script for Garrett [Greene] and I had the wrong one. I put Garrett in, and it’s totally my fault.”

Calling these timeouts ended up hurting the Mountaineers at the end of the game, as quarterback Jarret Doege didn’t have enough time to drive down the field, needing a field goal to extend the game.

Brown Praises Baylor HC Dave Aranda and the Bounce-Back Season They’ve Had So Far

Following the 2019 season, former Baylor HC Matt Rhule left Waco for a head coaching gig with the Carolina Panthers in the NFL.

The Bears needed to start rebuilding their football program, as they lost players to the transfer portal and graduation. Baylor brought in former LSU DC Dave Aranda to pick up the pieces from Rhule’s teams.

Then, COVID-19 struck the college football world, which made it even more difficult. Under Aranda’s first season at Baylor in 2020, the Bears went 2-7, finishing ninth in the Big 12.

Now, the Bears are 4-1, with a big win over Iowa State.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Dave Aranda and his staff, and I think they’ve done a great job,” Brown said. “I thought they unfairly got some flack last year they had a ton guys lost off of Matt Rhule’s team in 2019 and the pandemic. I just remember somebody asked me on media day about them and I think they’ve done a really good job this year.”

Preview of Baylor’s New Offense

Aranda brought in a new offensive coordinator in Jeff Grimes, who came from BYU. So far in five games, the Bears have averaged 37 points per game, which is 22nd in the country.

This is impressive. Baylor lost long-time quarterback Charlie Brewer, who transferred to Utah in the off-season. Baylor now runs the offense behind Gerry Bohanon. Bohanon has thrown for 1,001 yards, with seven touchdowns and no interceptions.

Brown stated that Baylor likes to run the ball. The Bears have two running backs that the Mountaineers will need to watch in Abram Smith and Trestan Ebnar. Smith and Ebnar combine for 858 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. West Virginia will also have to watch Smith and Ebnar in the passing routes.

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