MORGANTOWN — After climbing three spots to No. 9 in the latest Associated Press poll Sunday, West Virginia achieved its highest ranking since 2012.
The Mountaineers (4-0, 2-0 Big 12) are coming off a 42-34 victory at then-No. 25 Texas Tech, which fell out of the poll. West Virginia joins No. 7 Oklahoma and No. 19 Texas atop the Big 12 standings.
The last time Dana Holgorsen’s team was ranked so highly was Oct. 7, 2012, when it reached No. 5. During 2016, the Mountaineers twice reached No. 10.
The Dominion Post’s Sean Manning voted the Mountaineers No. 10 in his ballot.
West Virginia ran up a 35-10 lead on Texas Tech before hanging on in the fourth quarter.
“I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t play as hard as I thought we could have in the second half,” Holgorsen said. “It’s human nature, and it falls on me. We’ve got to do a better job of getting them going regardless of the score is.
“We’ve got to handle success better. We’ve got to be able to play better and play smarter when we’re winning.”
Holgorsen could face another motivational task this week when Kansas (2-3, 0-2) visits Milan Puskar Stadium. West Virginia opened as a 24-point favorite Sunday.
