West Virginia had a successful 2023, but wants more in 2024
West Virginia has developed an identity within the program where the focus is on playing disciplined and smart football with a constant chip on their shoulder.
That’s something that the Mountaineers coaching staff spent the past 19 months developing in order to find a formula that could help provide a blueprint for what they needed to do to be successful on the field. There also has been a character piece with systems in place to make sure they’re bringing in the right type of player.
The results were hard to argue with the best campaign under head coach Neal Brown in 2023 by finishing with a 9-4 record and a bowl win over North Carolina.
But the program is shooting for more.
“Our real challenge is how do we go from a nine-win team that was on the cusp – we lose on a Hail Mary, we lose right at the end against Oklahoma State – how do we take that and become an 11-win team that can maybe get to Dallas and maybe get in the playoff,” head coach Neal Brown said.
West Virginia returns a bulk of their production on the offensive side with 15 of their top 20 players in snaps played and all the passing production. All of the rushing production outside 150 yards and 62-percent of the receiving yards with six of the top eight offensive linemen back in the fold.
The Mountaineers were the number one power four rushing team in all of college football.
“Now people know what we’re going to do right, so to be able to continue that success, we’ve got to continue to innovate, and I think we’ve found some ways we can do that during the offseason,” he said.
On defense, four of the top eight return on the defensive line while there is plenty of upside at the linebacker position and the Mountaineers used the transfer portal to add key pieces to round out the secondary.
Winning close games will play a significant role in that and it’s been a situation that the Mountaineers have found themselves in quite a bit not only last year but the several before.
“We’ve played one of the highest number of close games over the last three years and that’s the nature of this league,” Brown said. “I never use the word parity; I think It’s really competitive.”
Part of that process is improving the preparation and putting more emphasis on areas to be able to be there at the end of the year. Brown pointed out what unfolded against Penn State last year in the second half and how they can adjust things to help them compete not only there but later in the calendar.
“Change some things we’re doing from a preparation standpoint and put more emphasis on some of the scrimmages earlier in fall camp,” Brown said.
West Virginia made a step in 2023, but the Mountaineers are hoping to leap even further this year.
“Win those games at the end and I think the teams that do that the best are the teams that’s going to be there at the end of the year,” Brown said.
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