Big 12 Football: Week 9 Power Rankings
By VF Castro
3. West Virginia Mountaineers (Record: 6-1)
West Virginia was setting itself up to be the conference darling, and unsung hero of underdogs everywhere. With dominant performances against Texas Tech and TCU, the Mountaineers appeared balanced and well coached. There’s definitive proof those factors are true, but when a team is undefeated, it’s also extremely likely that there will be a loss somewhere on the schedule.
Enter: Oklahoma State.
The Cowboys capitalized off three turnovers by West Virginia, and were able to put 17 points on the board as a result. When you’re sitting in the drivers’ seat of your conference standings, fundamental errors can cost dearly. So when you’re putting the football in the opposing teams’ hands, there’s a high probability bad things will happen. Moving forward, ball security clearly must be addressed.
With the 1-7 Kansas Jayhawks up this weekend, West Virginia should use the game as an opportunity to introduce some exotic plays, tune up the defense, and work on fundamentals. With a trip to Austin in two weeks to take on the wildly unpredictable Longhorns, West Virginia is going to have to be dialed in.
Next Game:
| Sat, Nov 05 | West Virginia | vs. | Kansas | Morgantown, W. Va. | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN2 |