During his weekly press conference, ahead of this week’s Backyard Brawl, West Virginia head coach Neal Brown mentioned that they (WVU) are in the process of getting their schedule fixed for future seasons.
The answer was provoked by a question that mentioned the Backyard Brawl will not be returning until 2029 after next year. Brown noted the importance of the rivalry game but said that may not be completely concrete.
“Well, we got to get our schedule fixed and we’re in the process of kind of doing that,” Brown said. “But yeah I think it’s a series that needs to be played (Backyard Brawl). It’s important. I think Pitt wants to play it, we want to play it. College football is so up in the air, nobody really knows what the future looks like.”
When asked a follow-up question about getting their schedule fixed, Brown used a very specific example.
“We’re in the process. I mean like We got Alabama, I mean like that ain’t fixed,” Brown said.
Alabama is currently set to open the 2026 season in Morgantown. However, Brown has heavily hinted that it may not happen because West Virginia is attempting to get its schedule fixed.
As a former Mountaineer athlete, I have to ask when are going to take a real hard look at our football program? The Penn State game was embarrassing, for it showed how large the gap is between us and being a consistent Top 10 program like PSU. And now, Coach Brown looks like he wants to take away the WVU-Alabama home game in 2026. Why? We used to live for the challenge, but now we seem to be on the run from tough competition. Look, we’re at Pitt this weekend. We have to win this game. It’s all about attitude now. And leadership. That will be the difference come game time on Saturday. Come on Coach Brown, you can do this. Let’s Go Mountaineers!
Removing Alabama would not fix anything. It would be an embarrassment. It is sad to hear him say that sort of thing. Who is running that show anyway? Maybe the mistake was not hiring a proven Power 5 winner for a coach in the first place? You get what you pay for.
I’m a WVU season ticket holder since 1980 and I have to drive 330 miles each way to the games (from New Jersey). I feel like I’m wasting gas when I drive to see a game against Albany. I say keep Alabama and replace Albany with one of the former Big East foes like Rutgers, Uconn, BC, or Syracuse.
What we need to do is drop an FCS opponent and add Pitt.