West Virginia didn’t play in Week 10, but the Mountaineers still found a way to climb in the Big 12 power rankings. A few teams sitting above them stumbled, and that was enough to shuffle the board heading into another packed conference weekend.
The biggest results around the league told the story. Baylor rolled past UCF, 41-9.
Utah handled Cincinnati, 49-25. BYU survived Arizona State, 27-20.
Texas Tech knocked off No. 22 Arizona, 34-26.
Iowa State stunned No. 24 Oklahoma State, 51-49.
Colorado beat Kansas State, 27-24 in overtime. TCU also got by Kansas, 22-16.
That chaos showed up in the updated rankings, where West Virginia moved up to No. 7.
Utah stayed on top, followed by BYU at No. 2 and Texas Tech at No. 3.
Houston sits at No. 4, Oklahoma State at No.
5, Arizona at No. 6, and the Mountaineers now slot just behind them. The rest of the list has TCU at No.
9, Iowa State at No. 10, Baylor at No.
11, UCF at No. 12, Arizona State at No.
13, Colorado at No. 14, Kansas State at No. 15, and Kansas at No.
- Cincinnati is also in the mix at No.
Iowa State earned the label of biggest riser after one of the wildest swings of the week. The Cyclones had scored just 13 points combined in their previous two games, then exploded for 51 against Oklahoma State in a classic Big 12 track meet.
Their league results have been all over the map: both conference wins came in shootout fashion, including the 45-42 win over West Virginia. In their three Big 12 losses, they haven’t topped 17 points.
UCF took the biggest hit after last week’s upset of No. 2 BYU.
The Knights followed that up with a rough home loss to Baylor, which had just fired head coach Dave Aranda, and the score got ugly fast. UCF managed only 66 rushing yards on 30 carries.
Baylor, by contrast, put up 184 on the ground and 319 through the air.
The Week 11 schedule is loaded, starting with No. 7 BYU at No.
3 Utah at noon ET on ABC. Iowa State visits Baylor at noon on FS1, Oklahoma State heads to Kansas State at 1 p.m. on TNT, and Cincinnati travels to No.
17 Houston at 3:30 p.m. on FOX. UCF goes to Kansas at 3:45 p.m. on ESPN2, Colorado visits Arizona State at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2, and West Virginia closes the day at No.
13 Texas Tech at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN.
The Holy War headlines the weekend, but West Virginia’s trip to Texas Tech has real potential to be one of the most entertaining games on the Big 12 slate if the Mountaineers can move the ball and score the way they usually do.
In Other News...
WVUs Bowl Future Now Hinges On A Stretch That Could Change Everything
West Virginias bowl picture is getting clearer, but not necessarily easier, as the projection chatter around the Mountaineers keeps turning back to the same point: the next stretch of the schedule. With Texas Tech, Kansas, Houston and Utah still ahead, the conversation around where this team might land in December is tied directly to what happens over those four games, and to whether the Mountaineers can keep building on their current standing in the eyes of the bowl selectors.
For now, the various media projections are little more than a snapshot of where West Virginia sits in the moment, with different outlets slotting the Mountaineers into different postseason spots based on current performance and rankings. The real story is still ahead of them, because bowl eligibility is going to be decided by how they handle a run that could either stabilize the season or leave the postseason picture far murkier than it looks right now. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginias First Lineup Choice Says Plenty About Ross Hodge
Ross Hodge wasted little time putting his stamp on West Virginias first game, naming a starting five for the matchup with Niagara that offers an early glimpse at how he wants this roster to look. Miles Sadler, Finley Bizjack, Seydou Traore, Brenen Lorient and Mouhamed Sylla are set to open the season, a group that suggests Hodge is willing to lean into length, versatility and a fresh look right away.
The opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will stream on ESPN+, giving Mountaineers fans their first real chance to see how the new coachs choices translate on the floor. There is also a little more to watch beyond the matchup itself, with Lorients availability still tied to the ongoing NCAA appeal process after the temporary restraining order, adding another layer of intrigue to a debut that already feels like more than just a routine season start. [Read more 🡒]