College Football
Bowl Game Projections Continue to Pair WVU Against ACC School
There are four games left for WVU to try to salvage what’s been a disappointing 2024 season so far. And while Neal Brown is only focusing on one game at a time and simply reaching a bowl game is far below the preseason expectations of the program, West Virginia is only two more victories away from having a postseason.
On Monday of Week 11, Brett McMurphy of the Action Network released his latest bowl projections, keeping WVU in a similar spot they’ve been in most of the season. McMurphy currently projects West Virginia to be selected for the Armed Forces Bowl and face California. He also paired WVU and California against each other last week, granted in the Independence Bowl at that time.
But before anyone can truly worry about what happens after the regular season, Brown and his team are preparing for a close road trip to Cincinnati. With both teams coming off bye weeks and looking to close the season on a high note, oddsmakers view WVU as a slight underdog when they travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats.
On Sunday, DraftKings and FanDuel opened their Week 11 lines with Cincinnati as a 3.5-point favorite over the Mountaineers. For other major sportsbooks, Circa Sports is even more confident in the Bearcats with them at -4.
WVU enters the matchup at 4-4 (3-2, Big 12) while Cincinnati stands at 5-3 (3-2, Big 12).
In the first ever meeting between the schools as Big 12 foes, West Virginia beat Cincinnati 42-21 in convincing fashion in Morgantown during the 2023 season.
WVU bye week update….
The WVU fanbase is about as fed up as they’ve ever been based on West Virginia’s roller coaster ride of a 2024 season. But on Tuesday, something fans have been calling for happened – defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley was fired.
While that one move is not enough by itself to galvanize everyone again or fix the problems, it places an even bigger focus on the final four games of the season.
Jeff Koonz has been appointed the defensive coordinator to take over for Lesley for the rest of the season.
WV Sports Now offers a re-introduction of Koonz for any fans who need a refresher.
For related stories, a national analyst argues that WVU’s coaching change signals they are retaining Neal Brown. The ESPN FPI treated West Virginia like a loser while on a bye week.
