If the listless showing at home against Texas Tech was the lowest point of the Neal Brown era to date, then the response on the road the following week has been the peak.
A West Virginia team that had lost five straight hit the road to take on Kansas State and simply found a way to edge out the Wildcats 24-20 for their fourth consecutive win in the series. It would have been easy for this team to quit, but they didn't.
It was the first win over a ranked team for the Mountaineers since the 42-41 win over Texas last season and the type of notch on the belt that the program needed in its first season under Brown. A season that has certainly been filled with challenges, but now more than perhaps ever optimism for the future.
“This is a huge win. Felt like a long time coming, we’ve kind of been knocking on the door,” he said. “I told our staff earlier in the week, I really felt like we’d be in position at some point to win a game or win more than one game that maybe we shouldn’t have.”
This Kansas State team had won three of its last four including a win over Oklahoma, while the only loss was a three-point road defeat at Texas. The Wildcats were playing their best football of the season and the Mountaineers were able to brush all that to the side to get the win.
“It’s big for our program. Big for our players and I’m proud of our guys,” Brown said. “We competed, it wasn’t always pretty but that’s kind of what we are right now but they believed the whole time.”
Brown and his coaches challenged their football team after being embarrassed on their home field against the Red Raiders the week before. Yes, injuries and youth had taken its toll on the roster but the showing was one that for the first time in a while didn’t instill confidence that the climb was happening.
It was inexcusable to Brown who couldn’t fathom why his team didn’t show up so he made it a point to reinforce that the rest of the season was simply about resiliency.
“We challenged our guys and talked about being accountable and what the expectations are and what the standards are in this program and I thought they showed competitive character,” he said.
Things certainly didn’t start off on the right foot in Manhattan, as the Mountaineers offense began with a three and out and then allowed a 68-yard touchdown on the first defensive snap from scrimmage. From there, is where the fight of the team kicked in as in his first start Jarret Doege led the offense on a scoring drive and the defense only yielded 13-points over the next 11 possessions.
“I knew once we did that we were going to be in this game in the fourth quarter,” Brown said.
And they certainly were. The message hit home, the team scrapped, clawed and fought for an all-important signature win for Brown and his coaches. Even after falling behind, the players battled back.
The defense also responded with a pair of interceptions, including the game-clinching one on the final Kansas State drive to seal up the upset. The calling card all season has been to trust the climb and while easy to excuse reasons for the lackluster results, this performance helps instill trust in that slogan.
The Mountaineers had been close to several of these, notably on the road at Baylor, but were able to get over the hump and back into the win column. The type of win that can change the momentum of the program heading into the off-season particularly if the Mountaineers can close out with two more.
At 4-6 a bowl game is still within sights and for the first time in what feels like a while, the Mountaineers have some positive momentum down the stretch run.
Brown promised in his post-game following Texas Tech that the product on the field will eventually match the standards that the fan base has set. This was a step toward that.
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