Column: How many more wins are left for WVU football after back-to-back losses?
Trending
MORGANTOWN -- West Virginia football suffered another gut punch this past weekend, losing to Iowa State on the road, 45-42. The Cyclones had a new head coach in Year 1, a new staff, new players, and were picked to finish towards the bottom of the Big 12. With the help of the Mountaineers’ poor defense, they beat WVU and Rich Rodriguez in Year 2. That makes it back-to-back weeks Rodriguez has lost to a new head coach. Now the season is spiraling out of control, similarly to last season.
After a 3-0 start, one of the best in eight years, WVU is 3-2 and has yet to secure a victory in the conference. Looking at the schedule and how the conference has panned out after five weeks, how long could it be until WVU's next conference win? And after seeing five games, is a bowl game still possible?
Next conference win
WVU heads back to Morgantown for back-to-back home games. The Mountaineers host Arizona and Cincinnati in Week 6 and Week 7.
The Wildcats are one of the better teams in the conference this season. Arizona is 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12, with the only loss being to the top team in the conference, BYU. The Wildcats are coming off a big win over the Bearcats, who were undefeated, 34-7. Arizona received 19 votes in this week's AP Poll as well.
The Wildcats create a tough matchup, with quarterback Noah Fifita, who is second in the conference in passing yards. WVU's defense was just torched by Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker a few weeks ago, and he is the best in the Big 12.
That's going to be a tough game to win.
Cincinnati is a bit more winnable, but still not a gimme. The Bearcats were undefeated until getting stomped by Arizona. Cincinnati has Power Four wins over Kansas State and Boston College. Luckily, the Bearcats’ offense isn't anything crazy, but still averages 33 points a game.
Unfortunately, WVU gets the Bearcats off a bye, so they'll be fully recharged in their trip to Morgantown.
After Cincinnati could be the Mountaineers’ next win. TCU was supposed to be one of the above-average teams in the conference this season, but hasn't looked like the Big 12 contenders they usually are. TCU is 2-3 on the season and hasn't won a Power Four game.
The Horned Frogs are the opposite of the Mountaineers. They have one of the top-rated defenses in the conference, but have one of the worst offenses. It could be a get-back game for defensive coordinator Zac Alley if he makes it that long.
However, the Horned Frogs did play top-10-ranked BYU close a week ago, losing 17-10. But still, it's the closest WVU has to a winnable game coming up.
How many wins left?
Aside from the TCU game, it's hard to find many wins left on the Mountaineers’ schedule. WVU still plays three top-25 teams, Utah, Texas Tech and Houston. Two of those three are on the road.
Kansas, in Week 11, might be the only game you could count on as a win. The Jayhawks are another team in without a Power Four win yet this season, sitting at 2-2. Kansas is around the middle of the pack defensively and offensively. It helps that the game is in Morgantown.
If TCU and Kansas are looked at as possible wins, WVU is looking at 5-7 at the end of the year. Maybe the Mountaineers shock some people and win one of the ranked matchups like last year, but that still puts them at 6-6 on the season. And there's also the chance WVU loses one of the two more winnable games, too.
If WVU finished 6-6, it'd be an improvement after last season's 4-8, but not what people hoped for after the high of the Virginia win.