West Virginia’s Neal Brown asks for fans’ support: “What I would say is – did they have a good time?”

West Virginia fell to 3-3 this season after a 28-16 home loss to Iowa State in Week 7. It’s a disappointing start for a team that had high expectations after last year’s nine-win breakthrough. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mountaineers coach Neal Brown was asked why fans should continue to come to games. Brown acknowledged his own disappointment with the results and gave a lengthy response that may or may not quell the mounting frustration.

“I understand that they [fans] I want to win,” Brown said. “But what I would say is: Did they have a good time? Did you like it? It was a pretty good atmosphere. I assume they had quite a bit of fun following close behind. So if they were into the deal for fun, I would come back… We need them to create a home advantage. We need them.

“I understand they’re frustrated that we didn’t win,” Brown continued. “We played a tough schedule. Anyone who beat us didn’t lose. But that’s not an excuse, that’s just the truth and the games in our league will be limited to the fourth quarter and I don’t believe that.” This Saturday will be all different. We need them to help us.

In fact, all three of the Mountaineers’ losses (Penn State, Pittsburgh and Iowa State) came against teams that are currently 6-0 heading into the halfway point of the 2024 season. In total, only eight Power Four programs are undefeated.

“It was a fun football game – if you’re a football fan, you just watch it, it’s pretty entertaining,” Brown said of the Iowa State game. “We just didn’t play well enough to win. I hope that with that in mind they come back and have another entertaining game so that hopefully we can play better in the end and win.”

In its most recent loss to the Cyclones, West Virginia took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but a missed field goal on its second offensive attempt and two second-half interceptions by quarterback Garrett Greene made the difference between a potential breakthrough win and their first Big 12 loss of the season.

In a Week 1 loss to rival Penn State, West Virginia’s defense allowed a total of 457 yards of offense while the offense turned it over three times. In the Backyard Brawl against Pitt, the Mountaineers allowed 14 unanswered points in the final 3:06 of regulation, resulting in their second loss in three games.

In the offseason, Brown received a contract extension until the end of the 2027 season. A release therefore seems unlikely. And this is a program that has had at least some success under Brown. West Virginia entered the 2023 season 9-4 with a win over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. It was the Mountaineers’ best season since 2016. Still, halfway through year six, Brown is just two games above .500 (34-32) and has a record of 3-16 against ranked opponents.

Brown and the Mountaineers will face a ranked team again in Week 8 when they face No. 17 Kansas State.