Is West Virginia football being overlooked in 2024 Big 12 preseason poll?

Has West Virginia football already found a source of motivation for the 2024 football season? The Big 12 football media preseason poll was released earlier this week. Many in and around the Mountaineer football program likely feel slighted. 

In the new look Big 12, West Virginia has been selected to finish seventh in the conference via the preseason poll. 

2024 Big 12 football media preseason poll

1. Utah (20)
2. Kansas State (19)
3. Oklahoma State (14)
4. Kansas (5)
5. Arizona (3)
6. Iowa State
7. West Virginia
8. UCF
9. Texas Tech
10. TCU
11. Colorado 
12. Baylor
13. BYU
14. Cincinnati 
15. Houston
16. Arizona State

West Virginia finished its 2023 campaign with a 30-10 victory over UNC in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. In doing so, they collected their ninth win on the season, the program’s most wins since winning 10 games in 2016. West Virginia won four of their last five games with an overall record of 9-4.

WVU finished 6-3 in Big 12 conference play and they finished tied for fourth in the conference, a great accomplishment for a team that was slated to finish 14th out of 14 teams in the preseason poll. The Mountaineers used that preseason ranking as motivation to prove the naysayers wrong. 

Can they do it again this season?

Led by quarterback Garrett Greene there is great optimism in Morgantown as fans await the 2024 season. 

The most obvious correlation to make between the preseason rankings and the 2024 version of the Mountaineers is (on paper) how difficult their schedule is. Aside from playing Penn State and Pitt in the non-conference, West Virginia’s in-conference slate figures to be a rather difficult one. If the Mountaineers are to prove naysayers yet again, it will be earned, not given. Based on the preseason rankings, West Virginia’s nine conference games feature matchups with four of the top five teams and seven of the top nine teams. That’s a tough draw for the Mountaineers in a new-look Big 12 Conference that has 16 teams.

Yes, there are certainly some who feel as if a Mountaineer team that returns a lot of talent should be ranked higher in the preseason poll. Ultimately, the question that will be answered over the next few months is whether or not the Mountaineers are true contenders in the Big 12 or if they are a “middle of the pack” team. 

The optimism that Mountaineer fans feel is warranted. Again, slated to finish last in the Big 12 a season ago, WVU made some noise last season that not many expected. They were a Hail Mary loss away (at Houston) from a 10-win season. 

Is it right to think that the Mountaineers can reach the Big 12 title game?

Yes. West Virginia’s offense returns an immense amount of talent from a season ago. WVU had three players rush for over 700 yards last season, all of which return this season. Jahiem White, CJ Donaldson Jr., and quarterback Garrett Greene will be focal points within this offense yet again. Despite losing center Zach Frazier to the NFL, Wyatt Milum was named to the Big 12 preseason team along the offensive line. West Virginia has a wide receiver room that will look to build upon some success that was had last season. Rising sophomores Hudson Clement, Traylon Ray, and Rodney Gallagher will look to improve as weapons for Garrett Greene and the offense. 

Defensively, West Virginia will miss All-American, Beanie Bishop this season. However, Neal Brown and company did a great job of retooling the roster via the transfer portal and have a chance to put forth an even better showing on the defensive side of the ball. Sean Martin, Tyrin Bradley Jr., Trey Lathan, and Aubrey Burks will look to lead the way. A couple of the notable pickups for WVU come in the secondary. Both Garnett Hollis Jr. and Jaheem Joseph transferred from Northwestern and will look to provide stability to the WVU secondary that was saddled with injuries last season. 

Just how good can the Mountaineers be this season? We’ll get our first look at them during college football’s opening weekend when they play host to the Nittany Lions of Penn State on Aug. 31.