The one thing that couldn’t have happened to Neal Brown did

The regular season finale didn’t go as planned for the West Virginia Mountaineers and head coach Neal Brown, falling 52-15.

Here are some of my takeaways from today’s action.

A win against Texas Tech wouldn’t have significantly eased the pressure from the fan base, but it certainly would have eased it from within. Even a defeat in a competitive game probably wouldn’t have caused much concern for the government. But to lose like that in the last game of the year in a disappointing season…that has to at least force a conversation, right?

I mean, let’s be honest…no one will care about the outcome of the bowl game considering it will likely be against a Group of Five team or another subpar Power Four opponent. Something like this simply cannot happen in the sixth year of a term. Check that out; This cannot happen if you have not achieved successes during your term that will allow you to have a so-called “bad” year. That’s the norm under Neal Brown, and it’s not going to change any time soon.

Obviously, the takeover is the main talking point in this situation, and only Wren Baker, Gordon Gee and Co. know whether the university can afford to cut ties and go with a new coach. But honestly, how on earth do you excite this fan base and get behind this team for a seventh year?

In the first half, when it was still a game, Neal Brown had some interesting play directions. I have no answer as to why Brown continues to do jet sweeps along with Rodney Gallagher and it is so predictable. The play never goes anywhere and Brown thought it would be a good time to run it on 3rd and 5 and it blew up.

Texas Tech has the worst pass defense in the league and WVU had absolutely no interest in throwing the ball offside. Instead they tried to throw it into the apartments and live under it, which didn’t work at all. How can you not challenge a secondary that has been vulnerable all year? This game plan never had a chance.

At the end of the third quarter of the last game of the regular season you are down 42-9 and looking for a two-pointer. It’s one thing to commit to it upfront, but throwing the ball to left tackle: Who’s likely to be selected in the first round of next year’s draft? You’re just asking for something bad to happen. Do you really want to risk injury just because you want to “reward” him for his service in the program? Just not smart football at all.

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