WVU Against Undefeated Team for Bowl Rematch in New Projections

A week after offering WVU and Neal Brown a chance at revenge, Brett McMurphy’s latest bowl projections provide that same opportunity for West Virginia’s opponent.

Last week, McMurphy of the Action Network had West Virginia facing Minnesota, the same program that beat WVU in the first bowl appearance of Brown’s tenure.

But this week, the Mountaineers are paired with Army in the Independence Bowl.

The Independence Bowl will take place on Dec. 28 in Shreveport, La. If this projection comes true, it would be a rematch of the 2020 Liberty Bowl, with Army looking to flip the script and win this time.

Back in 2020, Neal Brown secured his first bowl win at WVU after a shortened season with a 24-21 victory. West Virginia was originally scheduled to face Tennessee, but the Volunteers had to forfeit their spot due to COVID-19 issues.

But in 2024, McMurphy has a currently undefeated Army team as a slight favorite. While the Mountaineers have endured a roller coaster of a season and sit at a disappointing 5-5 (4-3, Big 12), Army is 9-0 and in first place in the American Athletic Conference.

Unfortunately for Army, the strength of their schedule hasn’t been earning them enough respect to warrant inclusion in the College Football Playoff. Ranked at No. 18 by the Associated Press, Army is only at No. 24 in the CFP rankings.

But before West Virginia can truly worry about any potential bowl matchup, they need to win at least one of their final two regular season games.

And even though the WVU is one win away from reaching bowl eligibility, oddsmakers have good reason to doubt the Mountaineers in their pursuit of achieving their sixth win this week.

In fact, most major sportsbooks view West Virginia as an underdog to UCF. Both DraftKings and FanDuel opened their lines with the Knights as a -3 to open the week.

For a related story, a somber mood looms over Neal Brown and his WVU football team.