After a heartbreaking loss to rival Pitt in the Backyard Brawl last weekend, West Virginia football fans were disheartened and angry, with some calling for Head Coach Neal Brown's job.
The team sits 1-2 through three games, and while it's safe to say the losses to Penn State and Pitt in non-conference play have potentially put Brown back on the hot seat, the season is far from over. There is still 75% of the regular season schedule remaining -- nine games if you like numbers more than percentages. But looking ahead at WVU's remaining schedule, the road is far from easy to get this team back on track.
The challenge starts with the Kansas Jayhawks coming to town on Saturday for another nationally televised game, and the Jayhawks are another team that has underperformed thus far.
"They're in the same position as us," Brown said, referring to both teams sitting currently at 1-2 on the year.
If the Mountaineers send Kansas packing with a loss, it is still an uphill battle to fight it out for a decent bowl game at season's end.
As it stands entering this week, each team WVU will face going forward sits at least one game over .500, with four of those teams being undefeated thus far -- those teams are Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Kansas State, and UCF. The remaining teams on the schedule each have one loss a piece. With so much parity existing in College Football, this is sure to change drastically from week to week.
Without looking too far ahead, WVU will face a top quarterback in the country in Jalon Daniels on Saturday, and if that isn't a test of itself, they will be welcomed by a Heisman favorite and potential future Top 10 draft pick in Oklahoma State's running back Ollie Gordon after their first bye week.
After surely being on their toes trying to contain Daniels, the bye week will be a welcome sight to game plan in an attempt to right the ship for the rest of the season. As the schedule and grind of the season ramps up with Big 12 play, WVU will look to keep fresh bodies on the field and attempt to piece together a game plan on the defensive side of the ball to contain what is to come.