WVU HC Neal Brown Details Approach to Schedule, Talks Depth of Big 12

While his team is enjoying a much-needed week off, WVU head coach Neal Brown detailed his thoughts about the Big 12 as a whole and his approach to the bye week during a radio appearance.

“I think you make a mistake if you take the long-term approach,” said Brown when asked how he approaches the schedule on Sirius XM’s College Sports Today show.

“For me, it’s got to be week-to-week. And that’s the way we really approached it going into the Kansas week, and that’s going to be the way we approach it as we move through the season.”

"Our league is so evenly matched, there is going to be so many close football games."@WVUfootball head coach Neal Brown discusses the competitiveness of the @Big12Conference on #CSToday.

🎧📱: https://t.co/S8nb6YV6Ea@NealBrown_WVU | @RoddyJones20 | @BenHartsock pic.twitter.com/B9K4Pgyd7w

— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) September 25, 2024

Even though a game-to-game approach is common for most coaches, Brown doesn’t believe there’s any other option when competing in a league as deep as the current Big 12.

“Our league is so evenly matched. There’s going to be so many close football games. I don’t think you can look at it from an end-of-the-year perspective; it’s got to be the here and now. That’s the way we’re going to approach it.”

Coming off a 32-28 comeback win over Kansas, Brown’s team will enjoy their first bye week of the season before making the trip to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State on Sept. 28.

“This week we’re open and we needed it. We’re banged up a little. So, really, the focus is rest, recovery, and we’ll start a little bit of Oklahoma State. And as soon as Sunday hits, it’s all about Oklahoma State,” Brown said.

“Oklahoma State, it’s a tough trip. It’s one of the tougher venues to go play at in our league,” added Brown about West Virginia’s next matchup. “They’re loud, they’re right on top of you and they’ve got a really good football team. So, we’re going to have our hands full.”

The Neal Brown-led West Virginia Mountaineers and the Oklahoma State Cowboys are scheduled to kickoff at a 4 pm ET and the game will air nationally on ESPN2.

For a related story, WV Sports Now’s Mike Asti and Ethan Bock discussed WVU’s chances in the Big 12 on a recent episode of Mountaineer Report.