WVU Football
Neal Brown Believes This WVU Team Won’t Let Negativity Ruin Season
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A tough loss in a rivalry game can do wonders for ruining any good vibes around a team. But WVU head coach Neal Brown believes the 2024 Mountaineers will be able to tune out the negativity and avoid letting the season unravel out of control.
After starting his weekly press conference by reiterating that there are no excuses to blow a 10-point lead late in a game, Brown made a point to say his team now has to get over the pain and move on.
“We’re not going to feel sorry for ourselves. We’re not going to sit around and be miserable. There are people in this world with real problems and that’s not us,” explained Brown, who also said the players will follow his lead in terms of how he handles adversity.
Neal Brown Makes No Excuses for Pitt Loss: ‘You Should Never Lose When Up By 10’
Brown is aware it’s easier for him and the rest of the coaching staff to turn the page than it is for players, especially at their ages. Coaches are conditioned to turn the page win or lose after a game, but college players have classes and their personal lives to worry about. Brown is also not naive to the fact that it’s easier for a coach to just leave social media than it is for a player.
But he knows backlash and negativity comes with the territory of squandering a big game.
“When you lose a rivalry game, and one you were ahead in the final minutes, there’s going to be negativity.”
WVU HC Neal Brown: “When you lose a rivalry game, and one you were ahead in the final minutes, there’s going to be negativity.”
— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) September 16, 2024
As far as what bothers him the most about his team’s 1-2 start, Brown said he’s most frustrated with the lack of consistency on defense, most notably in the secondary.
A couple players also pulled from their own personal experiences about why they aren’t close to giving up on the season yet.
Offensive lineman Brandon Yates, who is one of the Mountaineers’ most senior players and voiced his support for the defense, reflected back on how a WVU team of the recent past rebounded from a tough early season loss to Texas Tech.
Wide receiver Jaden Bray even compared WVU going 1-2 in non conference play to when his Oklahoma State team fell victim to a big upset loss to South Alabama last year and ended up making it all the way to the Big 12 Championship Game.
The tough task of facing a Kansas team in a very similar situation is something they all recognized won’t be easy. Trying to contain Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels only compounds the challenge even more.
West Virginia and Kansas are set to kickoff at noon on Saturday with the Mountaineers considered a slight favorite.
For a related story, WV Sports Now’s Mike Asti offered his takeaways from WVU’s loss to Pitt in the 2024 Backyard Brawl.
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james brown
September 17, 2024 at 4:14 pm
just every other set, why don’t you try nicco at qb, let him play enough to calm his nerves,what can you lose coach brown, ur gonna get fired after this season anyway,,,greene just doesn’t seem to have it this yr.. or, better yet, why don’t you let him open up and run more, that’s greene’s forte isn’t it,, and you should have hired pat white as your qb coach, the best duel threat qb ever had,, he could teach greene a thing or two,,or three,, pat was always a cool cucumber, never rattled, ready to beat you. a very good passer and a great runner,, he would be a great mentor for greene.. you have ruined greene.. call in white as an observer or to some capacity to help greene get back what made him a darn good threat….
R Litsem
September 17, 2024 at 11:08 pm
When the coach intentionally fails to win, being ten points ahead and blames his players because coach suddenly wants to practice this is the main source of negativity.
Greene could have run, but coach won’t let him. Defense wants to cover WRs, but the coach won’t let him!
If Brown and his high school staff resign, most of the negativity is gone
james brown
September 18, 2024 at 4:36 am
it will be really tuff to get greene to resign,, and his buyout is very high for the shallow pockets wvu program to do it, brown has filled his bank account while at wvu , but he’s greedy , very greedy,, and baker,, shame on you, shame on you, for extending him a yr,, that’s insane, what got into your mind? 32-31 and about to go 32-32 after this weekend,, sad just plain sad,, how could wvu’s baker make such a huge mistake,, and he gave the def. coaches a raise too.. you fool.. go back to texas.