A Little Know-Howe: Win One of Neal Brown Era in the Books and Looking for Road Win One vs. Missouri
By Brad Howe on September 07, 2019 from A Little Know-Howe
The Neal Brown era is off to a good start.
One game played, one win. I know it wasn’t exactly a masterpiece performance, but give how many new (or inexperienced) pieces played a role in the win, you take it.
Up next ... a hungry, embarrassed Missouri team.
Mizzou traveled to Wyoming to open the season. The Tigers entered the game has 18 point favorites. And lost.
How unusual is that? Over the last 30 games as a double digit favorite Missouri is 28-2 straight up. The Tigers last loss in that role prior to last week was a loss to Indiana back in 2014. Expect a Missouri team that is re-focused and ready to play today.
What I’m watching in this game:
1. Can West Virginia find a way to run the ball effectively?
The Mountaineers rushed for just 34 yards against James Madison. Missouri's defense gave up an average of seven yards per carry to Wyoming last week. 
Something has to give today, right?
West Virginia will obviously have to block better. Earlier this week, Neal Brown mentioned the offensive line, receivers and running backs needing to improve in that area. Did West Virginia hold anything back in the running game t against James Madison for fear of showing too much to future opponents?
The Cowboys used quarterback Sean Chambers (120 yards rushing) to help gash Missouri on the ground. It’s unlikely Neal Brown will ask Austin Kendall to run it like that, but will we see Kendall pull it from the running back on some zone reads and take off himself a few times today?
2. Speaking of Austin Kendall...
I thought he played really well against James Madison. Yes, he overthrew a couple of balls that would have gone for big plays, but a very 
sold start.
sold start.
I’m guessing if you told Neal Brown that his quarterback would have a completion percentage of 65%, throw for two touchdowns and no interceptions (as Kendall did last week), he would take that every week. Can he duplicate that performance this week?
3. Can the WVU defense contain Kelly Bryant?
Bryant is the high profile grad transfer quarterback that arrived in Columbia after going 16-2 (with a national championship) as a starter at Clemson. In his first game for 
Mizzou, he threw for 423 yards. He also showed he can run it as well, both to pick up yards and to avoid the pass rush.
Mizzou, he threw for 423 yards. He also showed he can run it as well, both to pick up yards and to avoid the pass rush.
He will be a handful today for a WVU defense that did a nice job getting after James Madison quarterback Ben DeNucci. If West Virginia can get some pressure on Bryant he has shown he will provide a gift or two. He fumbled once against Wyoming and threw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted in the end zone. Both turnovers were extremely costly to Missouri.
The first win of the Neal Brown era is in the books. Will the first ROAD win of the Neal Brown era happen today?
What do you think? Leave a comment or send me a tweet @BradHowe07 with your score prediction.
NOTE: For more Missouri-WVU analysis, I invite you to join our nine hours of Metronews gameday coverage beginning at 9 a.m. today. I’ll be joined by Hoppy Kercheval, Jeff Jenkins, Fred Persinger and former Mountaineer stars Reed Williams and Rasheed Marshall. You can listen on radio stations throughout the state or at WVMetronews.com
EDITOR'S NOTE: Top photo shows Neal Brown after last week's win, while the running game struggled vs. James Madison as shown in the second photo. Third picture shows Austin Kendall looking for a receiver, while Dante Stills tracks down the JMU quarterback below. Second photo by Joe McNemar. All other photos by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.
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