Brown sees two positives as West Virginia prepares for its first meeting with Duquesne in 88 years.
MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — West Virginia’s sole game against a non-Power 5 Conference opponent this season also happens to be the Mountaineers’ first meeting with Duquesne in 88 years.
The Dukes, FCS members of the Northeast Conference, will make the hour-and-a-half bus trip south to try to inflict West Virginia its first loss in the Mountaineers’ 24th game against an FCS opponent on Saturday at 6 p.m.
“Most of their talent is from within a three-hour radius, so they’ll be hungry to play at Mountaineer Field,” WVU head coach Neal Brown said. “We’ll get their best shot.”
The Dukes are facing a Power 5 club for the third consecutive season, the fifth of six games against FBS competition from 2021 through 2023. Duquesne will travel to Coastal Carolina on Saturday. Last season, the Dukes suffered defeats at Florida State and Hawaii. Duquesne lost at TCU two years ago before winning the next week against Ohio.
“If we’re going to play these games, it makes sense to do them regionally,” Brown explained. “Because it’s a bus tour, Duquesne will take a lot more home from this one.” They are not required to take a flight. They’ve been to Hawaii and Florida State University. I’m sure there are wonderful money games, but they come at a high cost.”
When the two colleges agreed to play this game in August 2018, they stipulated that West Virginia pay Duquesne $425,000.
Brown sees two potential benefits in this circumstance. The Dukes get a significant pay day that will help them run their program, while the Mountaineers can gain confidence and provide the coaching staff an opportunity to examine more guys if WVU handles things properly.
“This game is very important for FCS programs to get payouts so they can continue to finance their program,” Brown explained. “Another important thing is that you give yourself the opportunity to play some people if the game goes in a certain direction.” This requires a significant amount of effort. It is available all year. Redshirting is difficult, and some men continue to do so. Your walk-on program is vital to your success, and people deserve chances to play.”
For the third consecutive season and the fourth time in five years, the Mountaineers will face 11 Power 5 programs. They’re hoping to avenge a 38-15 setback in the first of these meetings last Saturday.
No. 7 Penn State hosts the season opener. Duquesne defeated Division II Edinboro 49-7 on the same day.
Following the home opener, West Virginia will host Pitt and Texas Tech, the latter of which will be the Mountaineers’ final game in Morgantown for almost a month.
“We’re hungry for a win.” “Until we get a win, we’re a 0-1 football team, and we need a win,” Brown said. “We have a crucial three-game homestand starting with Duquesne on Saturday night.” Duquesne is a prestigious program. They’ve won five conference titles in the previous nine years and have had many players attend NFL camps in the last three or four years. In 2021, they defeated Ohio University, one of the finest Group of Five programs in the country, so it’s a group we respect.”
This is also the third consecutive season that West Virginia has dropped a season-opening away game versus a Power 5 opponent – the first time the Mountaineers have started three consecutive seasons 0-1.
since 1959-61.
After a setback against Maryland, the Mountaineers came home to face Long Island in 2021. Last year, WVU lost their opener at Pitt before falling to Kansas in OT at home nine days later. West Virginia’s first victory in 2022 came in Week 3 against Towson. The Mountaineers will start the season against No. 7 Penn State. Duquesne defeated Division II Edinboro 49-7 on the same day.
Following the home opener, West Virginia will host Pitt and Texas Tech, the latter of which will be the Mountaineers’ final game in Morgantown for almost a month.
WVU opened seasons with wins over FCS opponents — James Madison in a difficult 2019 contest that marked Brown’s first game with the Mountaineers, and Eastern Kentucky the next year in the team’s sole non-league regular season game due to COVID-impacted scheduling.
Brown has stated his support for West Virginia playing one home game against an FCS opponent each year, however he has been critical of the Mountaineers’ non-conference strategy in recent seasons.
“Where playing FCS first helps you is it helps establish momentum, and that’s important,” Brown said. “We’ve also opened up on national television two years in a row because we played a top opponent and rivalry game.” There are some advantages to doing so. My problem with our schedule isn’t who we play initially. My problem with our schedule is that we’ve been on the road three years in a row. That is not good planning. The other issue is that we’re playing eleven Power 5s, which puts us on a different playing field than our league opponents. That is not the case when we play that game. It starts on the road and plays eleven Power 5s.”
That, if anything, emphasizes the point.
“Where playing FCS first helps you is it establishes momentum, and that’s important,” Brown explained. “We’ve also opened up on national television two years in a row because we played a top opponent and rivalry game.” Doing so has certain advantages. My issue with our schedule isn’t who we play at first. My issue with our itinerary is that we’ve been on the road for three years in a row. That is poor planning. The other difficulty is that we’re playing eleven Power 5s, putting us on a different level than our league opponents. When we play that game, it is not the case. It begins on the road and has eleven Power 5s.”
If anything, this underlines the point.
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