West Virginia’s bowl picture is already taking shape, and the latest projections have the Mountaineers scattered across the country in a handful of familiar postseason spots.
After opening Big 12 play against Oklahoma State, WVU is coming off a 3-0 start that included a win over former Top 25 UVA. That has kept the Mountaineers in the bowl mix, and the weekly projection watch now has them lined up in everything from the Cactus Bowl to the Independence Bowl.
CBSSports has West Virginia facing Minnesota in the Cactus Bowl in Tempe, Arizona on December 26. ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura sees the Mountaineers taking on Auburn in the Kinder’s Texas Bowl in Houston, Texas on December 31.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach kept WVU in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, matching them with UCLA in Shreveport, Louisiana on December 22. AthlonSports projects Auburn against West Virginia again, this time in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee on January 2.
CollegeFootballNews has the Mountaineers meeting Army in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas on December 23.
The Big 12’s bowl order this season runs, after the College Football Playoff selections, through the Valero Alamo Bowl, Pop-Tarts Bowl, Kinder’s Texas Bowl, AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Cactus Bowl and then the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl.
The situation is a little messier because of the “Pac 12 Legacy Bowl Tie-Ins,” with Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah tied into the Valero Alamo Bowl along with the Big 12, plus the Las Vegas Bowl, Holiday Bowl and Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.
As for West Virginia’s postseason history, the Mountaineers are 17-24 all-time in bowl games and have won just three since joining the Big 12 Conference. Neal Brown’s teams beat North Carolina in the 2023 Duke’s Mayo Bowl and Army in the 2020 AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Before that, WVU’s only Big 12 bowl win came in the 43-42 victory over Arizona State in the 2016 Cactus Bowl.
The Liberty Bowl has been a recurring stop for West Virginia, with the program appearing there three times and going 1-2, including losses to Texas A&M in 2014 and Utah in 1964. The Mountaineers have also played in the Cheez-It Bowl three times and gone 1-2.
That event was previously the Cactus Bowl, where WVU beat Arizona State, and is now the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, while the Mountaineers also lost to Missouri in the Insight.com Bowl back in 1998. WVU’s only other First Responder Bowl appearance came in 2017, when it was still called the Heart of Dallas Bowl, and ended in a 30-14 loss to Utah.
In Other News...
WVU's Biggest Home Night In Years Comes With Real Stakes
West Virginia is getting one of those home nights that can define a season, and there is more riding on it than atmosphere alone. Milan Puskar Stadium is set for a major prime-time setting, and the Mountaineers are trying to turn a strong start into something bigger by staying perfect through the opening stretch and putting themselves back into the AP Top 25 conversation.
Rich Rodriguez has pointed to the energy around the program and the value of protecting home field, which makes this one feel less like just another September game and more like a measuring stick. For a team still trying to prove its early momentum is real, a night game in front of that crowd offers a chance to keep building and a reminder that the next step has to happen where West Virginia is supposed to be toughest to beat. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Injury Outlook Suddenly Looks Better Heading Into Oklahoma State
West Virginias injury picture is starting to clear up just in time for a trip to Oklahoma State, and that matters for a team that took a few hits in the recent game against Virginia. Rich Rodriguez said Nick Krahe will be limited in practice but is expected to play, while Jaden Bray is dealing with a hip bruise and should be back soon. The outlook is also encouraging for Ball, who is expected to play after being knocked out, giving the Mountaineers a little more stability as they try to manage the week.
There is even more room for optimism at running back, where Martavious Boswell and Talley are expected to be available. On the perimeter, Prince Strachan should see his role grow after being used sparingly last week, which could give West Virginia another option as it heads into a matchup that can use every healthy body it can get. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Knows Exactly What Awaits West Virginia Under The Lights
Oklahoma State is heading into one of the more charged environments in the Big 12, with Eric Morris already framing the trip to Morgantown as the kind of test that can turn a game on its head after dark. Morris had plenty of respect for what Rich Rodriguez is building at West Virginia, and he singled out quarterback Mike Hawkins as a dynamic presence in an offense that has grown noticeably since last season. For the Mountaineers, that is the sort of public praise that usually comes with a warning label.
The challenge for the Cowboys, Morris said, is not just the crowd or the setting, but staying clean with communication and tackling against a run game that can punish any lapse. West Virginia has shown enough improvement to make opponents prepare differently, and under the lights at home the margin for error gets even thinner. It is the kind of matchup where the details matter from the first snap, and Oklahoma State clearly knows it is walking into a place that rewards precision more than bravado. [Read more 🡒]