WVU football coaches and ‘signature wins’
I keep hearing the phrase “signature win” when the subject is WVU football coach Neal Brown. As in, fans would like to see him notch one.
I’m hoping for one too, as I like the man. (How could you not?)
I know of what the fans speak though. Through my long previous sports writing career before joining Wheelhouse Creative, I saw many “signature wins.” I remember them. They tend to stick in the brain. And if a coach doesn’t have one, well, their time is usually short in Morgantown. Like…
• Coach Jim Carlen’s benchmark in 1968 against rival Pitt. Then-sophomore Mike Sherwood wowed Mountaineer fans by completing 27-of-37 passes that day in 1968 for 416 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 38-15 WVU win.
Sherwood’s passing record would stand for more than 30 years before Marc Bulger surpassed it against Missouri in the Insight.com Bowl. WVU finished 7-3 and followed that up with a No. 17 final ranking in 1969 before Carlen left for South Carolina.
• Carlen left behind one of the greatest head coaches of all time in Bobby Bowden to take over WVU. The problem is, Bowden saved all his “signature wins” for Florida State in the future. Instead, he had a “signature loss” when a 35-8 halftime lead against Pitt evaporated in a 36-35 defeat. Thus, a rough time with West Virginia fans and a short stay from 1970-75.
• Frank Cignetti Sr. coached from 1976-79 and, you guessed it, never had that “signature win.” His first season was without 32 seniors from the previous year’s Peach Bowl team, and he finished with a 17-27 record before going on to be terrific coach at IUP.
• Donald Eugene Nehlen had almost too many “signature wins” to count. That’s why he lasted 21 years, from 1980-2000, and posted a 149-93 record for WVU.
The first such win was 26-6 over Florida in the Peach Bowl – led by QB Oliver Luck – and as I was a graduating senior fan right in the middle of the celebration, I can tell you it was big after some brutal seasons.
That was dwarfed, though, by WVU’s stunning upset to start the next season over Barry Switzer’s then-juggernaut Oklahoma Sooners. To me, that still stands No. 1.
Yet Nehlen’s teams made marks by beating Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie and Boston College; and by downing Penn State in 1984 for the first time since 1955.
There was that beautiful Mountaineer home victory over Syracuse in 1988 that capped an undefeated regular season and sent WVU to the national championship. And if you want two to go on, there were back-to-back 17-14 wins in 1993 against No. 4 Miami and No. 11 Boston College en route to another undefeated regular season.
• Ah, Rich Rodriguez. He certainly had “signature wins” and one big ol’ “signature loss.”
I submit a signature win came in his first season, 2001, when the Mountaineers went just 3-8. But toward the end of the season, WVU whipped the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 80-7. It was a signal of offense to come.
Two real building blocks for Rich Rod, though, came in 2002. At the end of the season, the Mountaineers went to No. 12 Virginia Tech and won at night 21-18. They completed the season at home, defeating No. 18 Pitt 24-17 and finished 9-4.
West Virginia was off and running (literally) under the coach en route to seasons that earned rankings like No. 5 and No. 6. The shocking 38-35 Sugar Bowl victory over (basically) host Georgia was Rodriguez’s finest hour.
We’ll barely mention that “signature loss,” which was the granddaddy of “signature losses” on Dec. 1, 2007, against Pitt that ruined a chance for a national championship appearance. The only good thing for WVU from that was…
• Bill Stewart’s “signature win.” After Rodriguez left before West Virginia’s appearance in the Fiesta Bowl, Stewart was named the interim coach before being named the head coach. His pre-game speech will forever live in Mountaineer lore.
WVU rolled the Sooners 48-28. His record as Mountaineer coach was 28-12.
• Of course, WVU fans can easily point to Dana Holgorsen’s “signature win.” After winning a share of the Big East crown in his first season as head coach, the Mountaineers played in the 2012 Orange Bowl and defeated Clemson 70-33 in a record-setting game that remains astounding. Holgorsen stayed from 2011-18 and had a 61-41 record with WVU.
• Bringing us to Brown. The Mountaineer home game against Penn State is glowing like neon as an opportunity to earn that “signature win.”
Understand that Brown’s WVU teams have defeated ranked opponents, like against Kansas State, Virginia Tech, Iowa State and Baylor. In 2021, the Mountaineers beat Texas and in 2022 took down Oklahoma, but both were down at the time. His WVU teams have won a couple bowl games. WVU beat Pitt last season, but the Panthers were down.
Which sets up Aug. 31 at Milan Puskar Stadium for the coach and team. The Penn State game, set for Fox TV, is the golden opportunity. Let’s see if the team is ready to make a statement and register that “signature win.”
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.