West Virginia wants to find a way out of upcoming Alabama series, because who wouldn't?

College football teams tend to want coaches who are unafraid of a challenge and willing to guide players through adversity. West Virginia head coach Neal Brown seemed to miss that memo.

In his Monday news conference, Brown made an odd comment that had reporters feverishly following up.

"We got to get our schedule fixed and we’re in the process of kind of doing that," Brown started. "I think it’s a series that needs to be played. I think Pitt wants to play it. We want to play it. I know it makes sense for us to play the game."

Reporters asked Brown to clarify what he meant by "get our schedule fixed." Was he talking about future "Backyard Brawls" with historic rival Pittsburgh?

"We’re in the process," Brown continued. "We got Alabama. That ain’t fixed."

Is Neal Brown scared of Alabama?

It certainly seems like it, but who can blame him? Even without legendary head coach Nick Saban the Crimson Tide are still a force to be reckoned with.

However, the 2026 and 2027 seasons — when it's scheduled to play West Virginia — pose a lot of questions for Alabama. Jalen Milroe may not be the quarterback anymore and surely more players will be in the NFL by then. Why not try and take advantage of the transition?

The last time West Virginia and the Crimson Tide met in 2014, it was only a 33-23 margin in favor of 'Bama.

If Brown wants to take the Mountaineers to the next level — especially in a Big 12 that's fighting for relevance among Power Four conferences — he needs to roll the dice on marque matchups that could produce signature upsets for the program.

West Virginia's non-conference schedule for the next three seasons currently looks as such:

• 2025: Robert Morris, at Ohio, Pittsburgh
• 2026: Alabama, UT Martin, East Carolina
• 2027: at Alabama, VMI, Ohio

If Brown is focusing on replacing Alabama with Pittsburgh — a move that would play well locally because it would extend the "Backyard Brawl" rivalry — it will ultimately hurt the program's chances at making the College Football Playoff.

The committee wants quality wins in the non-conference period and unless Pittsburgh is a Top 10 team all three years, it won't care if West Virginia is 3-0 by the time it enters Big 12 play.

On the other hand, an 0-1 start to both the 2025 and 2026 seasons wouldn't help much either. But the cost-benefit leans in favor of taking on a perennial Top 5 program. Because as a wise man once said, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take.