WVU football headed to Dallas for bowl game against Utah
The WVU football team is heading to a bowl game for the sixth time under head coach Dana Holgorsen.
The Mountaineers are taking on Utah in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Dec. 26. It isn’t quite a flashy match up or desired location, but it is unique to the WVU football team.
Many bowl projections had the WVU football team playing in the Liberty Bowl or Texas Bowl, which it has played in both before as members of the Big 12 Conference. The Mountaineers are new to the Heart of Dallas Bowl and the Utah football team provides an opponent that the program hasn’t seen in decades.
The WVU football team has played Utah just once before and that was way back in 1964, according to WVUstats.com. Utah earned a 32-6 victory in what was the Liberty Bowl, then played in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
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According to WVUsports.com, this is the 36th time the WVU football team has played in a bowl game. It is the fifth time the Mountaineers have played a bowl game in the state of Texas. It’s almost like Texas is a second home for the WVU football team, considering it was there twice this season playing fellow Big 12 teams.
The game is being played the day after Christmas which will probably deter many WVU football fans from making the trip. There does seem to be a nice contingency of West Virginia fans and alumni in Texas, so hopefully they can create a great atmosphere. The WVU football team’s fans are known for traveling well to bowl games, which was definitely the case for the BCS games — 2006 Sugar Bowl, 2008 Fiesta Bowl and 2012 Orange Bowl. A game like the Heart of Dallas Bowl doesn’t provide the same kind of pizazz.
Though the WVU football team doesn’t really deserve any extra pizazz. The Mountaineers went 7-5 and underachieved this season. If a few more things go in West Virginia’s favor, it could have had another 10-win season. With 10 wins, the Mountaineers probably would have played in the Big 12 title game with a chance at a New Year’s Day game, or at least a sure-fire shot at playing in the Alamo Bowl.
Next: 30 best games in WVU football history
West Virginia has a lot to build on for next season and bowl game preparation is the best way to do that. Utah presents an interesting challenge that the WVU football team should not take lightly.