WVU football is being counted out for the season by numerous analysts at CBS Sports after an unfortunate Week 2 for the Mountaineers.
WVU went on the road in Week 2 to face the defending MAC Champion Ohio Bobcats and ended up making the trek back to Morgantown with a 17-10 loss. Adding insult to the injury – or more literally, adding more injury to the injury – starting wide receiver Jaden Bray and starting running back Jahiem White were lost for the season due to injuries against the Bobcats. Now, they have to put that loss in the rear view mirror ahead of a rivalry match-up with Pitt this weekend.
That seems to have been the final straw for many national football reporters at CBS Sports when it comes to any hope for the Mountaineers, and their coverage regarding the Mountaineers has been bleak headed into WVU’s Week 3 matchup against Pitt in The Backyard Brawl.
First, CBS Sports released their weekly Bottom 25 rankings for the FBS, with the Mountaineers entering the rankings at No. 20 after their dismal loss to the Bobcats gained significant attention across the college football world.
“Saturday's loss inflicted significant damage on WVU's hopes of becoming bowl eligible in 2025, and it earned the Mountaineers a spot in this week's Bottom 25,” said CBS Sports reporter David Cobb, who penned the article.
Then on Wednesday’s episode of CBS Sports’ Cover 3 Podcast, the outlook for the Mountaineers when discussing the upcoming Backyard Brawl was pretty dismal among the analysts on the show. Both the loss to a Group of 5 opponent and the injuries were highlighted by the crew, and host Chip Patterson said he expects it to be a “tough year one” for head coach Rich Rodriguez.
“It brings me no joy when my mental view of a conference, when I’m able to just throw some teams in the basement before the beginning of December,” Patterson added.
“West Virginia losing on the road to Ohio and then suffering those injuries is a real buzzkill for me,” added CBS Sports analyst Tom Fornelli.
One other member of the crew, Bud Elliott, did shine some sort of light on how he thinks the Mountaineers might be able to pull out a win against their rival, but he didn’t seem optimistic.
“[Pitt QB Eli] Holstein’s not been playing very well this year…if he screws around and makes a bunch of errors and Zac Alley, the [defensive] coordinator there at West Virginia, is able to pressure him, then maybe. But, yeah, I’m skeptical,” he said.