WVU Opens Home Slate

Mountaineers to host Long Island

The two teams taking the field at Milan Puskar Stadium this Saturday have very little in common.

Outside of their identical 0-1 records, one plays in a stadium that can hold 60,000 fans; the other, only one-tenth of that. One team won two games a season ago; the other was named champions of the Liberty Bowl.

Yet, the Long Island Sharks are the first step in bouncing back for Neal Brown, who sees the flaws that need to be addressed with his team following last weekend's 30-24 loss to Maryland.

Saturday's game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. kickoff and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

"Once you know where you are, you gotta know where you want to go," Brown said Tuesday.

"Our brutal reality is 0-1, we were soundly defeated. Offensively, we had three turnovers. One of them on a third-and-1, one of them in the end zone. One of them was a really poor decision on a first play of a drive. We didn't play physical enough up front. Weren't consistent at quarterback. Defensively, we didn't play to the standard that we created here over the last year and a half. Started very poorly, didn't tackle very well. We had poor communication that gave up over 120 yards of offense."

Brown acknowledged that the team's play wasn't entirely abysmal, highlighting positives in the return game and the occasional defensive stop, among other things. But, headed into Week 2, the Mountaineers are still a work in progress.

They'll host LIU, a Football Championship Subdivision program, in Saturday's home opener.

"I think it's worth noting that we're going to play them on the 20th anniversary of 9/11," Brown said.

"They were, as a university and as a football program, deeply affected by 9/11, just like our university was as well. Their players will be excited, there's no question ... It's going to be the biggest venue on the biggest stage they've ever played in, and we'll get their best."

Wide receiver Derick Eugene has shown so far that he's the team's most explosive playmaker on offense, tallying 115 yards on seven receptions in the team's opening game against FIU last week. Quarterback Camden Orth is also one to keep an eye on as he threw for nearly 200 yards.

Yet, the Sharks' play against FIU -- a 48-10 loss -- wasn't exactly the definition of success.

Brown said Tuesday that the Sharks will show a similar style of offense to what Maryland showed: a multiple-style game plan that will utilize many different fronts.

On defense, Brown says they're a team that likes to pressure. Brown noted the impact of cornerback Tariq Snead, saying that he's "been around the ball a lot during his career."

Despite what the Sharks will throw at the Mountaineers, Brown expressed the importance of this week as a tune-up game for the team, an opportunity to fix the errors that plagued the Mountaineers last week.

"It's really more about us and getting back," Brown said.

"We're going to play a lot of people this week, we're going to play some people that hadn't played a week ago. We're going to give our young guys plenty of opportunities to get out there and show that they're capable of playing. A lot to look forward to this weekend."

The Mountaineers have never lost to an FCS opponent, going 21-0 in such games entering Saturday.