West Virginia coach Brown explains fourth down decision

In the Backyard Brawl, Neal Brown had a decision to make.

West Virginia was leading No. 16 Pittsburgh 31-24 with a little over six minutes remaining with the ball at the Panthers 48-yard line. After a two-yard run by CJ Donaldson, the Mountaineers offense was facing a fourth down situation over under a yard with a chance to effectively burn more time off the clock.

The Mountaineers were running the ball effectively and averaged over eight yards per carry in the fourth frame but there were options for Brown to weigh.

Given the emotion and atmosphere in the game, the decision was one that seemed significant at the time. And while rarely one play will decide a game, it was a critical juncture.

Over the previous two Pittsburgh offensive series, the Mountaineers defense had held the Panthers to a combined seven total yards including a pair of sacks on the possession beforehand.

“If you look at what they’ve done traditionally they’ve been really, really good in short yardage situations. When you go back and look at it, it was fourth and three quarters of a yard,” Brown said.

The fourth-year West Virginia head coach put his trust in the defense and bypassed the opportunity to go for it in order to back the Panthers up deep in their own end. Equipped with all three timeouts, Brown felt that the best play was to punt the football in order to make the Panthers earn it.

After a delay of game, punter Oliver Straw would boot the ball 48-yards to pin the Panthers at their own 8 to start the drive.

“I looked up at the clock and they had to go 92-yards and we’re up 7. If you go for it there and you don’t get it, then they have a short field,” Brown said.

After a two-yard rush, Pittsburgh quarterback Kedon Slovis dumped off a six-yard pass to the sideline to Rodney Hammond but West Virginia cornerback Wesley McCormick was tagged with a targeting penalty. The senior cornerback was already filling in for the injured starter Charles Woods and after his ejection, the Panthers would need only five plays to tie the game up at 24-all.

Football is a game that is easy to second guess decisions, but Brown stands behind his choice to play the odds that his defense would be able to make a stop. It ultimately didn’t work, but given the time left on the clock and timeouts remaining in the Panthers pocket it made the most sense to him in the moment and then after.

“I think the decision was sound and if I had to do it again, I’d do it again,” Brown said.

The head man admitted that if the clock had been closer to three minutes remaining he might have done something differently, but he felt good about putting his defense back on the field.

After tying the game, Pittsburgh would record a pick six off a pass that bounced off the waiting arms of Bryce Ford-Wheaton and would record a stop on a fourth down play right at their own goal line for a 38-31 win.

Obviously, had the Mountaineers gone for it and gotten stopped things it would have led to second guessing in the other direction, too.

It’s impossible to know how the game turns out in alternate scenarios but Brown’s decision ultimately was one of the most discussed topics after the game.

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