West Virginia flipped the script from last week’s Backyard Brawl, coming back from an 11-point deficit in the final five minutes of the game to defeat the Kansas Jayhawks 32-28. It may not have been the way Neal Brown drew it up, but it avoids a disastrous 1-3 start to the year heading into the bye week with a trip to Oklahoma State waiting on deck.

Even with the Mountaineers erasing a double-digit lead, there is still a lot to be concerned with this team. They continue to turn the ball over at an alarming rate and when you field a defense that has played as poorly as Jordan Lesley’s unit has, it’s not a recipe for success.

First, let me start with Garrett Greene.

You could make the case that one, maybe two of his interceptions weren’t entirely on him. That being said, he has been far from impressive aside from the final two drives of Saturday’s game. All of the preseason hype and excitement surrounding his improved accuracy has yet to show up on Saturdays.

There is still time for him to get it turned around, but when you’re a month into the season and are completing passes at a 56% rate, you start to question if that’s just who he is as a passer. If that’s the case, it’s not the end of the world. West Virginia won nine games a year ago with him connecting on 53% of his passes. He just has to make better decisions with the football and not turn it over. If he does that, the completion rate won’t be as detrimental to the efficiency of the offense.

As for the entire team, it’s the same story. You’re a month in and haven’t impressed, but don’t look horrific either. What does that mean? Well, chances are this is just an average team that is going to finish in the ballpark of a 6-6 record which is quite a step back from 2023. Being average in 2024 is unacceptable.

Yes, mathematically West Virginia is in the Big 12 race and will remain there until they drop a few games. But there’s a difference between being mathematically in it and being in the conversation for the conference crown. From what we’ve seen through four games, there hasn’t been one ounce of tape that suggests this is a top-four or so team in the Big 12.

I’m sure I sound like a broken record, but it’s year six. It’s time to win and play meaningful football in November. In the offseason, Brown talked about how this team needs to figure out how to go from a good team that wins nine games to a really good group that can win 10-11 games. Instead, this looks like it’s going to be a battle just to get bowl-eligible.

Maybe I’m wrong. But to this point, the tape speaks for itself. There’s no magic wand Neal Brown can wave during the bye week that is going to fix all of the issues the Mountaineers have defensively. And if the offense doesn’t show the ability to take care of the football, it’s going to be a long year. You can’t keep kicking the can down the road when it comes to the timeline of being relevant. Everything has an expiration date.

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