West Virginia Not Projected to Make Bowl Game After Pitt Loss

West Virginia football is now projected to miss a bowl game this season, following a disastrous loss to Pitt in the Backyard Brawl. Brett McMurphy released his weekly bowl projections on Monday morning.

Here’s McMurphy’s projected playoff field:

1. Georgia – SEC**

2. Ohio State – Big Ten**

3. Miami – ACC**

4. Utah – Big 12**

5. Texas – SEC

6. Alabama – SEC

7. Ole Miss – SEC

8. Tennessee – SEC

9. Oregon – Big Ten

10. Penn State – Big Ten

11. USC – Big Ten

12. Northern Illinois – MAC

** = first-round byes

The College Football Playoff now moves to 12 teams after a near-decade of four teams. The top four conference champions receive a bye with the group of five schools also receiving an automatic bid. From there, the rest of the field is determined by at-large bids. This now opens the door for many teams to contend for the national title even after a loss or two.

WVU sits at 1-2 with losses to Penn State and Pitt. West Virginia, who had a quiet offseason, received hype for bringing back the likes of Garrett Greene, Jahiem White, CJ Donaldson, Aubrey Burks, Wyatt Milum and others. Now, the Mountaineers will face three ranked teams in the next five games. The unranked opponents include Kansas and Arizona.

West Virginia will kickoff vs. Kansas on Saturday at noon. The Jayhawks are also entering this week 1-2, with losses to Illinois and UNLV.