ESPN FPI Treats WVU Football as Loser While on Bye

West Virginia’s roller coaster ride on the ESPN FPI (Football Power Index) continues even while enjoying a week off. Despite being on a bye week, ESPN’s calculations treated WVU as if they lost anyway.

The Mountaineer fell six spots, dropping from 48 back out of the top 50 to 54. WVU’s next opponent also experienced a dip, granted not as severe as what happened to West Virginia. The Bearcats are now at No. 40.

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.

Oddsmakers View WVU Football as Underdog at Cincinnati

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.

Jordan Lesley’s Firing Sparks Big Reaction from WVU Fans on Social Media

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 a related story, WV Sports Now polled WVU fans to ask them if the firing of Jordan Lesley changes their opinion of Neal Brown.