College Football Playoff Ranking Projections: Top 25 for Week 11
By Zach Bigalke
2391. . (6-3). Previous: . West Virginia Mountaineers. 25. team
West Virginia took down one of the hottest teams in the country on Saturday, surviving a visit by No. 15 Iowa State to win 20-16 and reach bowl eligibility. In what turned out to be a defensive struggle, the Mountaineers earned a critical tiebreaker over the Cyclones as they kept themselves in the Big 12 title race.
Will Grier went 20-of-25 for 316 yards and two touchdowns against Iowa State. Justin Crawford led West Virginia with 102 rushing yards, while Kennedy McKoy added another 60 yards on the ground. The Mountaineers defense came up big as well, holding Iowa State to only 350 total yards of offense in a low-scoring battle.
With the win, West Virginia should slot into the College Football Playoff Top 25 this week just ahead of the Cyclones team they just beat. A trip to Kansas State looms in Week 11, with Texas and Oklahoma rounding out the regular-season slate. If the Mountaineers win out, they’ll be playing in the Big 12 championship game.