A couple of losses in a row may seem like the world is crumbling, but in all reality, there is still a ton of football left for the Mountaineers, and a successful season can still be had.
Hopes of contending for a spot in the Big 12 Championship game have faded, but doubling their win total from a year ago or being in the ballpark of doing so would still be considered a major step in the right direction for the program.
This morning on the In the Gun Podcast, I asked college football expert Phil Steele what he saw as the ceiling for this year’s Mountaineers following the disappointing start to Big 12 Conference play.
“I can probably see, at this point, I think seven (wins) would be a possibility. Now, the schedule gets pretty tough at the end. Road trips to TCU, and I know TCU hasn’t been playing great so far, but look at the test they gave BYU last week, and they have talent. They have to play Texas Tech on the road, Utah on the road, and Houston at home — those are all tough games. I think West Virginia’s got to take care of business this week. As you mentioned, they’ve got to get that defense going. If they do and get the win, I can see seven, but I think it’s going to be tough to do much more than that with this defense and with that schedule at the end of the year.”
Phil is spot on here. The schedule is tough, but there is still a path to seven wins and potentially more. Personally, I haven’t been all that impressed with TCU, nor do I think Texas Tech is this unbeatable juggernaut that they were a year ago. Yes, it’s on the road, but as long as WVU’s offense continues to play the way it has, they will have a chance in every game they play.
It all starts this weekend, though, against a quality Arizona team. You have to take care of home field, and going 2-0 in this homestand completely changes the trajectory of this season. If this scenario plays out, they will have already surpassed last year’s win total and will be within one win of bowl eligibility with five games left to play.
West Virginia and Arizona will tee it up at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday.
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