MORGANTOWN – The window to postseason eligibility is quickly closing for both the West Virginia University and UCF football teams.
There’s still some room left for the Mountaineers to wiggle into a bowl game, though not much. They need to win one of their last two games to qualify for the postseason. For the Knights, the window is almost shut. UCF must sweep their last two games to earn the six wins necessary to guarantee eligibility.
Both teams understand the stakes of today’s 3:30 p.m. matchup at Milan Puskar Stadium (ESPNU). The Mountaineers and Knights are both backed against the wall. If the Mountaineers lose, they enter their regular season finale at Texas Tech with everything on the line. If the Knights lose, they slump into their last game with nothing to play for but pride.
“We’re looking forward to two more opportunities that are guaranteed,” WVU tight end Kole Taylor said. “You can’t dwell upon what happened in the past.”
Yet it’s past play that put both the Mountaineers (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) and the Knights (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) in their current predicaments. Both teams entered the season with much higher hopes than they have right now, wanting to finish at or near the top of the conference standings with a chance at the Big 12 title game.
Inconsistency and poor defense has done WVU in. The Mountaineers have pulled off some good road wins, but have fizzled at home, thanks in large part to a pass defense ranked near the bottom of the Football Bowl Subdivision in several key categories. If WVU falls today in Morgantown, it will be only the second season in program history with five losses.
The Knights opened the 2024 campaign strong with three straight wins, but have lost five of their last six, including five in a row midseason. UCF’s pass defense has struggled this year, too. It has allowed 19 passing touchdowns so far, tied for 108th in the FBS, compared to the 21 allowed by WVU which is tied for 120th. The Knights are 96th nationally allowing 239.5 passing yards per game, compared to WVU’s 269.6 passing yards allowed per game, which ranks 127th.
As it stands, both teams lean on their running games to carry their respective offenses. WVU ranks 27th at 197.2 rushing yards per game. Only Army gains more on the ground than UCF’s 262.8 yards per game. The Knights are led by running back R.J. Harvey, who is tied for third nationally at 132.8 rushing yards per game.
WVU coach Neal Brown sees the strengths in his team, but said the Mountaineers are still searching for a game when all those strengths come together and show out at the same time.
“I don’t mean to sound like a broken record but, to me, it’s about playing well – special teams, offense and defense at the same time, and we haven’t done that enough consistently,” he said. “We’ve been an inconsistent football team. That’s why we’re 5-5, because we’ve been inconsistent. And so to me, it’s how do we finish out this month? Playing at our best in those three phases together? All right, if we can do that, then we’ll be a really good football team.”
The Mountaineer players agree that they need complete games in their last two contests to make sure they can play in their fourth bowl in five seasons. There is a greater sense of urgency around the locker room, Taylor said, as the players understand what another inconsistent performance can cost them.
“We understand that there’s two (games) to win one,” he said, “just to get an extra game and have an opportunity to play in the postseason. We understand that’s where we’re at and that’s the team we are.
“Whether we want to be in that situation or not, that’s the situation we’re in,” Taylor continued. “We’ve got to win at least one more to get a bowl game, but we want to win out.”
-by Derek Redd
