West Virginia secured the biggest win to date in the Neal Brown era toppling No. 15 Virginia Tech 27-21 and bringing the Black Diamond Trophy home.

The Mountaineers moved to 2-1 on the season and and WVSports.com takes a look back at what unfolded in our weekly feature The Day After.


The crowd. What a scene. West Virginia fans came out in numbers for this one and the atmosphere was evident before the ball was even kicked off. There was just something different in the air about this one and the fact that it was the first on-campus meeting between these two teams since 2005 didn't take away from the experience at all. This was a classic old-school rivalry that played out under the watchful eyes of many in the nation. This is a game that needs to be played regularly and if you were there you know why that's the case. I've covered every home game since 2011 and this had one of, if not the, best atmosphere during that entire tenure with only 2011 LSU comparing.

The run game. If I'm going to knock it last week, you have to find a way to praise what the unit was able to do in this one against a tough Virginia Tech front. West Virginia rushed for 180 yards against the Hokies and the offensive line was able to open up some massive holes at times in this one. Yes, the ending puts a damper on the overall performance when the Mountaineers tried to run out the clock but this was a very encouraging effort from a unit that took its lumps. Leddie Brown rushed for 161 yards on his own and continued to move piles forward even when it wasn't there.