Mountaineers Fall From Rankings

Following a tough double overtime loss to TCU, the Mountaineers find themselves out of every major poll for the first time since November of last year. At this point last season, the Mountaineers had just suffered there third loss of the season by a very tight margin to a less than overwhelming opponent. Sound familiar?

November 3, 2012; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith (12) is up ended by TCU Horned Frogs defensive end Devonte Fields (95) during the third quarter at Milan Puskar Field. The TCU Horned Frogs won 39-38 in two overtimes. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE

This season holds many similarities to last season. By the first weekend of November, WVU had a 6-3 record and was unranked. The Mountaineers had lost by a large margin to one of the best teams in the country #2 LSU, lost by a large margin to a decent Syracuse squad, and a tight loss to a mediocre Louisville.

The 2012 Mountaineers are 5-3 and unranked. WVU has lost by a large margin to #2 ranked Kansas State, lost by a large margin to #22 Texas Tech, and just lost by a tight margin to middle of the road TCU.

That kind of similarity is eerie.

If the similarities are to continue, the Mountaineers are due to claw out wins the rest of the way in nail-biting fashion and find their way back into the polls. Unfortunately for the 2012 Mountaineers, they play in the Big XII and not the Big East any longer. That means there is no chance of a BCS bowl this year, but the Mountaineers can make a respectable bowl game with a strong finish.

Apparently the pollsters don’t have much confidence that the 2012 Mountaineers can repeat what the 2011 team did at the end of last season. WVU received zero votes in the AP Poll and only receive 7 points in the Coaches Poll. The computers didn’t have any respect for the Mountaineers either as WVU did not appear in this week’s BCS Poll.

The writers of the Fansided Top 25 Poll did not give the Mountaineers any credit in this week’s poll either. West Virginia received zero points in the poll, meaning that even I did not vote for the Mountaineers this week. The way WVU has played as of late, it is difficult to say that they are better than 99 other teams that could be in the polls. If WVU can pull off a big upset on the road in Stillwater, I think they will have a shot at climbing back into the field of 25.

For those interested, here is how I voted for the Top 10:

1. Alabama
2. Kansas State
3. Oregon
4. Ohio State
5. Notre Dame
6. Georgia
7. Florida
8. Florida State
9. Oregon State
10. Louisville