West Virginia’s Neal Brown on 2024 Season: ‘We’re 5-5, Not 0-10’

Neal Brown wants WVU fans to simultaneously know he’s not satisfied with the 2024 season and it’s also not as bad as it seems.

Brown responded to criticism during his weekly radio show on Thursday night.

“Nobody is more upset about our inconsistent performances than myself and our players. But those inconsistencies make people think we’ve done nothing, which isn’t true. We’re 5-5, not 0-10,” said Brown.

WVU HC Neal Brown from his weekly radio show:

“Nobody is more upset about our inconsistent performances than myself and our players. But those inconsistencies make people think we've done nothing, which isn't true. We're 5-5, not 0-10.”

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) November 22, 2024

And as expected, this comment isn’t going over well with WVU fans who remember Brown, the rest of the coaching staff and the players all vocalizing that they were expecting to contend for the Big 12 title in 2024. West Virginia’s 5-5 (4-3, Big 12) record has also included losing four games at home and blowing a 10-point lead in the final minutes to rival Pitt.

Even though Brown’s Mountaineers can still reach a bowl game with one more win, crawling into a lower tier bowl game is a step back from the surprise success of 2023.

It’s extra hard for fans to hear since this is Brown’s sixth season at WVU and he only has a 36-34 record and two bowl wins to show for his tenure.

This latest comment by Brown comes after apologizing for the failures of the season, especially the struggles at home, at the start of the week on Monday.

“We should play better at home. I think that criticism is fair,” said Brown while providing a blunt assessment that all fans will universally agree with at this point.

WVU Football Coaches, Players Own Inconsistent Season, Striving for Bowl Game

And aside from playing quality opponents – three of WVU’s five home games so far have been against ranked teams, the issue has been a lack of consistency. When the offense is clicking, the defense and/or specials teams is struggling and vice versa.

“We’ve been an inconsistent football team and that’s why we’re 5-5,” said Brown.

Nothing Brown can say will change the reality of the situation for this group of Mountaineers. The reality is they own an average 5-5 overall record and would fall to .500 in conference play with a loss as well.

Offensive coordinator Chad Scott, often known for his motivational speeches, offered these words of wisdom about not dwelling in what can’t be changed, that he shared with his players.

“Our mind gotta be stronger than our feelings,” preached Scott.

The first order of business is winning the home finale against UCF and going from there.

Most major sportsbooks view West Virginia as an underdog to UCF. Both DraftKings and FanDuel opened their lines with the Knights as a -3.

West Virginia is on the heels of a 49-35 loss to Baylor while the Knights are coming off a bye. At 4-6, UCF needs to win out in order to be eligible for a bowl game.

Kickoff between the Mountaineers and Knights is set for 3:30 pm ET and the game will air on ESPNU.

For a related story, would Neal Brown really leave WVU for UMass?