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Takeaways: Brawl Proves 2024 Mountaineers Not Worthy of Hype

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WVU Football HC Neal Brown and QB Garrett Greene at Pitt
Kelsie LeRose / WVSN

PITTSBURGH – By this point in the season, there’s no way to deny the 2024 West Virginia Mountaineers aren’t who many thought they would be. Many expected this WVU team to contend nationally and build on the success of 2023 to continue the program’s climb. However, that is not in any way what’s unfolded to this point.

It now appears this latest disappointment – blowing a 10-point lead and losing 38-24 to Pitt in the Backyard Brawl – has caused Neal Brown’s most loyal supporters to lose trust. So what happened to cause WVU to fall to 1-2 and enter Big 12 play with a funeral like atmosphere looming over such an historic program once again.

Garrett Greene looks like he’s regressed….

After an offseason full of a polarizing debate among fans and media, Garrett Greene hasn’t come close to living up to any kind of hype. In fact, he’s making those who argued he should be a dark horse Heisman candidate look foolish.

Putting aside a solid showing and a 49-14 win over FCS Albany, Greene’s completion percentage has been right around 53%, exactly where it was in 2023. This comes after Brown and quarterbacks coach Tyler Allen made it clear Greene needs to be closer to 60% in order for him and the team to get to another level.

And not only has his accuracy not increased, Greene has already thrown half as many interceptions (2) through three games this year as he did all of last season (4).

With that said, WVU did put up 34 points against Pitt and the offense has been productive overall since their abysmal showing against Penn State.

The secondary is way worse than advertised

Even those who remained skeptical about West Virginia’s secondary throughout the offseason, seem surprised by how bad the pass defense has actually been. A week after allowing the most passing yards ever produced by an FCS opponent against a WVU team, Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein carved up the Mountaineers, most notably on the Panthers’ game winning drive in the final minutes in the 107th edition of the Backyard Brawl.

Transfer Garnett Hollis, who was brought in with the intention of replacing Beanie Bishop, has lost most one-on-one battles and been exposed in coverage in the end zone. Veteran Aubrey Burks has looked out of place in his new role of a safety-linebacker hybrid. Wide receivers have been beating Ayden Garnes and other defensive backs time and time again there doesn’t appear to be any fix for any of this in sight.

WVU Football secondary Garnett Hollis, Ayden Garnes, Jaheem Joseph

Kelsie LeRose / WVSN

“You should never lose a game when you’re up 10 late,” said Brown about his defense squandering a 34-24 advantage with about five minutes left during his postgame press conference.

And since Pitt’s comeback win was largely due to the struggles of WVU’s secondary, Brown added a “let’s just say what it is, we haven’t defended the pass really good” as well. Holstein completed 21-of-30 passes for 301 yards and threw three touchdowns in the game.

The pass rush does exist

For the only bright spot from a rough night for the WVU defense, it’s clear this group does have the ability to generate a pass rush. After registering only two sacks in two games, West Virginia recorded five on Holstein on Saturday.

But despite making Holstein sweat and deal with pressure most of the game, he was able to scramble his way out of jams and find open space, too. And apparently, Holstein’s scrambling was a surprise to the WVU defense. Defensive lineman T.J. Jackson actually admitted the oversight, saying he was not expecting Holstein to run around as much and he didn’t see him do that on film.

Key Player Admits to Startling Oversight by WVU Defense While Scheming for Pitt QB

However, Holstein did in fact scramble during Pitt’s comeback win over Cincinnati the week prior to the Backyard Brawl.

Holstein ran for 36 yards, averaging 3.6 yards per rush against the Bearcats. In that game, Holstein led Pitt back from a 27-6 deficit to eventually win 28-27.

To be fair to Jackson, he did record six tackles, including three as solo tackles, in his first start as a Mountaineer.

Jackson’s comments have used as fuel for WVU fans looking for the program to make a change coaching wise, most notably with the man in charge of making sure the defense is fully prepared each week.

To that end, WVU defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley’s X account has been removed as of early Sunday morning.

At the end of the day….

The Mountaineers can try to offer the sales pitch to fans that the new College Football Playoff rules keep hope alive all they want, but the fans aren’t buying it. No WVU fan is slurping any kind of Kool-Aid right now, and there’s no reason for them to believe this team will rattle off conference wins and use winning a Big 12 title as their way into the dance.

WVU director of athletics Wren Baker preaches not acting with emotion and he’s unlikely to make any rash decisions, at least not until he sees how Brown’s team responds with one game left before their first bye week. But it’s safe to say Brown is back on the hot seat, or should be, and this time, he’s joined by defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley.

For a related story, Mike Asti and colleagues from Pittsburgh Sports Now reacted to the 2024 Backyard Brawl immediately following the game on the field at Acrisure Stadium.