MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — With two games left in the regular season, West Virginia’s goal of reaching the Big 12 Championship game is still alive, but right now, it feels more like fitting a square peg in a round hole.
First, the Mountaineers’ final two games are against teams ranked in the top 15 in the College Football Playoff rankings, released Tuesday. With the postponement of the Oklahoma game from Saturday to Dec. 12, the Mountaineers will play No. 13 Iowa State on the road Dec. 5, followed by the showdown with the Sooners.
ISU and OU are also 1-2 in the Big 12 standings, while Texas and Oklahoma State are tied for third. WVU is sitting in fifth place at 4-3 in the conference.
So what needs to happen if the Mountaineers want to play in Dallas? Quite honestly, a whole lot, but it’s not impossible.
Obviously, they need to win their final two games against the Cyclones and Sooners. Owning tiebreakers over the current top two teams in the conference would go a long way. In all of these scenarios, WVU finishes the season with a 6-3 conference mark.
Since WVU is no longer playing this holiday weekend, Mountaineers fans should keep an eye on today’s Iowa State at Texas game and Saturday’s Texas Tech at Oklahoma State contest. The Longhorns and Cowboys hold the fate of WVU in their hands.
- Texas and Oklahoma State have three games left with the extended regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so both teams play Dec. 12. If Oklahoma State and Texas lose two of their last three to fall to 5-4 in conference, the Mountaineers would be tied for second with Oklahoma at 6-3 and would own the tiebreaker, with the Cyclones taking the top spot.
Verdict: Iowa State vs. WVU
- There is another way for WVU and ISU to meet, and it’s a chaotic end to the season. A six-way tie for first place is still on the table with all going 6-3 in conference play. For this to happen, Kansas State needs to win out, and Oklahoma State and Texas need to go 2-1 in their final three games.
In this scenario, WVU, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Texas are all tied, so it goes to a round robin format. WVU, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Texas knock off KSU and OU by going 3-2, so the next tiebreaker is record against the next team in the standings.
In this case, it would be TCU, which WVU and Iowa State beat this season, so the Mountaineers and Cyclones will be in the championship game.
Verdict: Iowa State vs. WVU
- A third scenario would pit Texas against WVU in the title game, and this one is rather simple: The Longhorns win out and Oklahoma State loses two of its last three. This would cause a three-way tie for second between Oklahoma, Iowa State and WVU, and the Mountaineers would own the tiebreaker with a 2-0 mark in the round robin.
Verdict: Texas vs. WVU
In a wild college football season, it’s no surprise we’re coming down to a crazy finish.
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