WVSports.com looks at the weekly press conference from West Virginia head coach Neal Brown and determines the five most interesting topics of discussion.
We examine what was said as well as what it means for the football team both this week and moving ahead as the Mountaineers navigate the 2024 schedule.
Next up is a match-up with Pittsburgh.
1—Backyard Brawl week. West Virginia and Pittsburgh will meet in the 107th edition of their rivalry game this Saturday and Brown understands the significance of the game for the fan bases. It’s one that is circled every year and after coaching in two of them recognizes the fact that it’s one of the best rivalries in all of college football. For West Virginia this will be their first trip back to Acrisure Stadium since the disappointing way that the 2022 game ended and Brown acknowledged the fact that that is still very fresh in his mind. There is always a lot of familiarity between these two teams and while it might not be the same as it was 20 years ago on that front, both of these teams feature players that the other tried to recruit. Brown said that his team fully understands the stakes in this game and how important it is overall when it comes to the fans.
2—A new look Pitt offense. Gone is previous offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, Jr. and in his place is a completely different style of offense with Kade Bell coming in to run the unit from Western Carolina. No longer are the Panthers a slow paced methodical offense, but instead have gone in the completely opposite direction with a focus on fast-tempo and wide splits reminiscent to what the Mountaineers have seen in the Big 12 from teams like Texas Tech.
It’s something that has taken a complete commitment from the top down since Bell arrived in December 2023 and the Panthers also have a number of assistants with connections to their new offensive coordinator. It’s a complete 180-degree approach from what head coach Pat Narduzzi has done in the past on that side of the football and the Panthers feature a number of weapons.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Holstein has made two starts since transferring over from Alabama in the off-season and has thrown for 635 yards and 6 touchdowns while rushing for 37 more. At the running back spot, Western Carolina transfer Desmond Reid has been dynamic with 293 rushing yards and 117 receiving yards in two games as the Panthers will move him all over the field. And at wide receiver, Pittsburgh has a number of options to use such as Konata Mumpfield, Kenny Johnson, Censere Lee and Gavin Bartholomew.
It's a completely different brand of football and one that the Panthers have fully invested into this season.
3—Same old Pittsburgh defense. While the offense is drastically different, the defense is a classic Narduzzi led unit that is the same mold of the one that the Mountaineers have played the past two years. This is a group that are exactly who they are and that has been a unit that has played quality defense for a long time. The scheme from a structure standpoint allows the Panthers to align regardless of the pieces in the same structure but can move around in a lot of different ways. The Pittsburgh defense will utilize a lot of match quarters, with an aggressive defensive line that will have a lot of movement and options.
Expect Pittsburgh to put their corners on the wide receivers in man coverage and that should be a key match up in this game if the Mountaineers are able to win that battle. And in addition to what they do with their movement up front, West Virginia must be prepared for their edge pressure which has led to eight sacks.
4—Coverage issues are correctable. West Virginia allowed over 300 passing yards to Albany and Brown hasn’t been bashful that the Mountaineers simply weren’t good enough in pass coverage. The cornerback room didn’t play well, but it wasn’t just limited to them either as the Mountaineers weren’t getting to where they needed to get with their drops in zone coverage either from the spears to the linebackers and across the board. Now, on the plus side West Virginia did stop the run but fixing those issues when the ball is thrown against the defense is going to be critical heading into this week against Pittsburgh.
That starts with better technique and the Mountaineers have players that have played well before but often against Albany they were trying to do too much with their eyes in the wrong spot on top of the issues with team pass coverage. West Virginia is primarily a zone team, and they have firm rules on where those players are supposed to be and some of that was due to them looking into the backfield before getting to their spots.
The good news is all of that is correctable and Brown said that this week they will try some competition for reps at the cornerback spot getting TJ Crandall, Dontez Fagan and Jacolby Spells involved while they need to see some of the players at safety continue to elevate their play as well.
5—Brown wants to see Pittsburgh on the schedule. Including this season, West Virginia will have two meetings with Pittsburgh before things take a break until the series resumes from 2029-32. But if Brown has his way, the Backyard Brawl will be a game that is a staple on the slate. It’s a game that obviously carries a ton of tradition with it and the fact that the two schools are only 75-miles apart makes a lot of sense from a proximity standpoint along with the passion of both fan bases involved. The rivalry posts strong television numbers, and it simply is a game that moves the needle for both fan bases.
Brown said that the Mountaineers are in the process of getting their schedule “fixed,” and if the Big 12 Conference stays with their current format of nine league games he would like it to consist of Pittsburgh, a group of five school and an FCS opponent with those latter two being played at home. Brown even joked that the upcoming home-and-home with Alabama during the 2026-27 seasons isn’t what he would call getting the schedule fixed but it’s clear that the Backyard Brawl is one that West Virginia wants to see on there every season.
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