College Football

Neal Brown Reacts to WVU Being Left Out of Major Poll’s Top 25

Published

1 month ago

August 8, 2024

WVU Football HC Neal Brown at Gold-Blue spring game

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Neal Brown isn’t shy about expressing his feelings about the national perception of the WVU football program. And a couple days after learning his Mountaineers missed the cut for a major top 25, Brown was more than willing to discuss the latest West Virginia slight.

“If you just look at our resume, how we finished the year, quality wins we had last year with what we had coming back, that resume is going to get in the Top 25. So what gives? I don’t know. Our top players are being undervalued,” said Brown when prompted for his reaction to receiving only 22 voters in the Coaches Poll on Monday.

On getting votes but being left out of Coaches Poll top 25, WVU HC Neal Brown says he feels West Virginia belongs based on who is returning, players added to roster and success of 2023 season. He also added that preseason polls don’t matter as much anymore with the playoff and…

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) August 7, 2024

This is far from the first time Brown has mentioned a disrespect towards WVU, even suggesting the slights are not just about the present day team or during his tenure.

While Brown is well aware that WVU is the winningest program all-time in the Big 12, he’s not sure if everyone around the country respects the Mountaineers place in the history of college football.

Brown actually labeled West Virginia as “one of the most undervalued” programs from an historical perspective. He then noted that he makes sure to detail WVU’s past success to his players.

Neal Brown Argues the WVU Football Program is Historically Undervalued

Despite entering 2024 on the heels of the accomplishments of 2023, Brown did admit most of that success came before joining the Big 12. WVU owns 15 conference championships, but has yet to win one in the Big 12. But Brown confidently added “it’s coming” about returning West Virginia to glory and winning a title within college football’s new Power Four landscape.

Here’s the full initial 2024 Coaches Poll top 25 by USA Today.

Rank/Team/Votes/First-Place Votes

1. Georgia – 1364 (46)

2. Ohio State – 1302 (7)

3. Oregon – 1228

4. Texas – 1223 (1)

5. Alabama – 1077

6. Ole Miss – 1019

7. Notre Dame – 969

8. Michigan – 944 (1)

9. Penn State – 889

10. Florida State – 867

11. Missouri – 808

12. LSU – 742

13. Utah – 665

14. Clemson – 657

15. Tennessee – 621

16. Oklahoma – 609

17. Kansas State – 416

18. Oklahoma State – 359

19. Miami (FL) – 292

20. Texas A&M – 273

21. Arizona – 230

22. NC State – 216

23. USC – 199

24. Kansas – 186

25. Iowa – 148

Others Receiving Votes:

Washington 123; Louisville 95; Virginia Tech 64; SMU 47; Memphis 44; Boise State 30; Auburn 25; West Virginia 22; Wisconsin 17; Liberty 15; Iowa State 15; Kentucky 12; Florida 11; South Carolina 10; North Carolina 6; UNLV 5; Maryland 5; UCF 4; Texas Tech 4; UTSA 3; Tulane 2; Texas State 2; Nebraska 2; Colorado 2; Appalachian State 2; Troy 1; Syracuse 1; Miami (OH) 1; James Madison 1; Air Force 1

List Of Voters:

The US LBM Board of Coaches for the 2024 season: Tim Albin, Ohio; Major Applewhite, South Alabama; Tim Beck, Coastal Carolina; Mike Bloomgren, Rice; David Braun, Northwestern; Jeff Brohm, Louisville; Fran Brown, Syracuse; Neal Brown, West Virginia; Troy Calhoun, Air Force; Jamey Chadwell, Liberty; Bob Chesney, James Madison; Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan; Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech; Spencer Danielson, Boise State; Ryan Day, Ohio State; Kalen DeBoer, Alabama; Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State; Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri; Mike Elko, Texas A&M; Tony Elliott, Virginia; Jedd Fisch, Washington; James Franklin, Penn State; Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame; Willie Fritz, Houston; Alex Golesh, South Florida; Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky; Mike Houston, East Carolina; Butch Jones, Arkansas State; Brent Key, Georgia Tech; GJ Kinne, Texas State; Chris Klieman, Kansas State; Dan Lanning, Oregon; Rhett Lashlee, SMU; Clark Lea, Vanderbilt; Lance Leipold, Kansas; Pete Lembo, Buffalo; Sean Lewis, San Diego State; Mike Locksley, Maryland; Mike MacIntyre, Florida International; Gus Malzahn, Central Florida; Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio); Derek Mason, Middle Tennessee; Joey McGuire, Texas Tech; Bronco Mendenhall, New Mexico; Jeff Monken, Army; Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh; Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State; Barry Odom, UNLV; Gerad Parker, Troy; Brent Pry, Virginia Tech; Kirby Smart, Georgia; Mark Stoops, Kentucky; Jon Sumrall, Tulane; Lance Taylor, Western Michigan; Jeff Traylor, Texas-San Antonio.

West Virginia is coming off of a 9-4 record last year, capped off by a Duke’s Mayo Bowl win over North Carolina. The Mountaineers are currently in fall camp and preparing for the season opener against a ranked Penn State team. Along with PSU, five Big 12 teams were voted into the Coaches Poll: Utah, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Arizona and Kansas.

Note: It was the Coaches Poll that ranked WVU in its final top 25 for the 2023 season.