MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The honeymoon ended with 10:35 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After nine months of plaudits, Neal Brown got his first taste of a head coach’s life in the Power Five as a smattering of boos sprinkled down from the upper deck at sold-out Milan Puskar Stadium. More than a few of the 61,891 paid customers expressed their distaste for a conservative run call on third down.
The grumbling was understandable. West Virginia’s ground game was closer to walking than running, averaging 1.4 yards per carry. Even notoriously immobile former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar managed 1.