Why West Virginia deserves to be a Top 25 team after upsetting No. 25 Virginia

The West Virginia Mountaineers waltzed into Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Saturday night as double-digit underdogs, with most people writing off the Mountaineers against the No. 25 Virginia Cavaliers – perhaps with strong memories of West Virginia's four-win season last year still on their minds.

But the Mountaineers waltzed outwith a dominant win over a Top 25 opponentthat wasn't much in doubt late in the contest, and their first start to a season with three consecutive wins for the first time since 216. So what does this statement win say about the West Virginia Mountaineers?

The West Virginia Mountaineers proved their worth as a Top 25 contender

The new AP Poll won't be out until later on Sunday. But national college football insider Brett McMurphyalready let it slipthat West Virginia is ranked on his ballot. And it's really hard for us to find an argument for excluding the Mountaineers from the top 25.

Listen – maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves here. But the team that walked into Bank of America Stadium on Saturday and had a 17-point lead over Virginia looked like a legitimate top 25 team. Especially if we're being told to believe that the Virginia team we saw is also a fringe top 25 team: which we are given that they enter at No. 25 in the latest AP Poll.

Quarterback play is important for the top teams in the country, and with Mike Hawkins Jr.playing at such an elite level, anything is possible. He had 313 all-purpose yards and five offensive touchdowns with no turnovers lost. Through three games he is 26-for-38 passing with 477 passing yard, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He also has 322 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.

And West Virginia's defense wasn't perfect, but looked much improved from the first two weeks. They put a starting Power 4 quarterback in bad situations and sacked him three times, efficiently contained Virginia's run game, and limited the Cavaliers to 6-of-16 on third down.

If the Mountaineers keep playing like that in every facet of the game, it's hard to see why they wouldn't be considered a top 25 team. And at the bottom of the poll, they just beat the No. 25 team. No. 24 Oklahoma barely escaped Week 3 with a one-score win over New Mexico, and you can argue West Virginia's resume looks better than fellow Big 12 rival No. 22 Houston, who has a win against Oregon State and a loss to Texas Tech when playing Power 4 opponents.

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