WVU Football 2019: Enduring the Climb
By Matt Waskey
WVU lost it’s first game of the 2019 season in Missouri on Saturday. The Mountaineers fell 38-7 and put on a display that left much to be desired.
If you were to plugged in to twitter during or after the game there were a lot of different hashtags and opinions. Aside from the usual buffoonery that has come to be WVU football twitter, there were some hashtags that described what West Virginia is going through this season. Some of the hashtags that made sense were: #YearZero, #TrustTheProcess and #EnjoyTheClimb.
New head coach Neal Brown has been really honest and tried to temper expectations in his first year. He has called bad play bad and been up-front about the struggles of his team.
After surviving James Madison in the first week, we saw the struggle come to fruition in this so-called ‘Year Zero’ of the Neal Brown era.
We witnessed 30 rushing yards on 32 attempts. That’s 0.9 yards per carry.
Late in the game, prior to the last drive, WVU had less than 100 yards of total offense.
There is more negative to dwell on, but that seems like a waste of time. In the end, the entire eye test told us that this edition of the Mountaineer football team is severely lacking at this point in the season.
That brings us to the question – “What’s next?”.
We know that NC State is next, and we will preview that in the coming days.
Some are embracing the hashtag #EnjoyTheClimb. Without a doubt, the climb is the future of WVU football.
More appropriately I think we need to be prepared to #EndureTheClimb.
WVU faithful have endured two painful weeks of football. After watching the Will Grier/ David Sills show the last couple of years, this is a big change in our Saturday consumption.
It is east to become overly critical at 1-1. With little to cheer for, we can pick apart every flaw. Some low-football-IQ fans were even calling for new position coaches in the second quarter.
As Mountaineers we need to trust the process and endure the climb. It won’t always be enjoyable in 2019 but the positives will eventually begin to show.
There are a couple things to consider.
First, this is a major rebuild. West Virginia lost so much talent on both sides of the ball, it’s hard to imagine replacing them, much less excelling in the Big 12 with those replacements. If Dana Holgorsen was still here there would be similar frustration.
Second, we know that Neal Brown has a track record of winning. He took Troy to some big wins against serious competition and three consecutive 10-win seasons. The first season of his Troy tenure his team was 4-8. He came in and installed his system and his staff. Then things turned around.
This is a time to circle our blue and gold wagons, rally around the staff and players, and break out the patience. This is going to be a long season with some low-lows, some of which we’ve already tasted. I believe before the end of the seasons we will get a glimpse of the future with some high-highs.
In order for us to get there we won’t always be able to #ENJOYtheProcess but we have to go ahead and decide we will embrace the positives and #ENDUREtheProcess.
HailWV.com is on Twitter @Hail_WV
The author is @MattWaskey