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Two late-game decisions that Neal Brown must give an answer for following the loss to Pitt

By Troy Van Camp

West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Neal Brown speaks with Albany Great Danes head coach Greg Gattuso after the game at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium.
West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Neal Brown speaks with Albany Great Danes head coach Greg Gattuso after the game at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. / Ben Queen-Imagn Images
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1. Why so conservative?

Garrett Greene WVU Backyard Brawl
West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Garrett Greene (6) throws a pass against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Pitt was trailing by 10, had possession of the ball, and was facing a 2nd & 30 from the WVU 40-yard line with just over 3 minutes. Eli Holstein converted on a shot to the end zone to Daejon Reynolds and just like that the WVU lead was down to 3 after the PAT.

Following this, the job for WVU was clear. They needed to convert a couple first downs and ice the game. Instead, West Virginia ran the ball with CJ Donaldson twice and was faced with a rather obvious passing down where Garrett Greene was sacked.

The most critical drive of the game for WVU lasted 3 plays, spanning just over a minute, and went backward 7 yards. While CJ Donaldson had a productive day in his third Backyard Brawl, the play calling by Neal Brown was too conservative in this situation. This was only West Virginia’s second three-and-out of the game, and it was a costly one, giving Pitt the ball with 2 minutes to play. Even if West Virginia concerts one first down on that drive, we are possibly looking at a different outcome for the game. 

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