WVU Football Plummets to New Low in ESPN FPI Following Ohio Loss

The Mountaineers exposed themselves so much in their loss to Ohio that they have now dropped to a new low on ESPN’s FPI (Football Power Index). WVU plummeted all the way to No. 66 this week.

West Virginia’s 17-10 defeat at the hands of the Bobcats triggered a drop that has Rich Rodriguez’s team barely inside the top 70 teams in the country, granted they’re still, ironically, ranked two spots ahead of Ohio.

The once-proud WVU football program will now attempt to dig themselves out of this hole following one of the most embarrassing losses in school history.

Unfortunately for West Virginia, oddsmakers aren’t too optimistic about their chances of making that happen with a big win over their arch rival.

WVU is listed as a 4.5-point home underdog to the Pitt Panthers in the Backyard Brawl, set for this Saturday. Both FanDuel and DraftKings agree with the line opening the week at -4.5 in favor of Pitt.

WVU Opens as Home Underdogs to Pitt in Backyard Brawl

Including the win over Robert Morris, WVU sits at 1-1. Conversely, Pitt comes into the matchup undefeated with wins over Duquesne and Central Michigan.

This year’s Backyard Brawl will feature some familiar faces. Pending a change at quarterback, redshirt junior Nicco Marchiol is set to start for WVU.

Marchiol faced Pitt in the 2023 edition of the brawl after an injury to starting quarterback Garrett Greene. He led the Mountaineers to a 17-6 win.

Sophomore quarterback Eli Holstein is returning to the matchup as Pitt’s quarterback. Last year, he diced up WVU for 301 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-34 loss for WVU.

The game marks WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez’s return to the Brawl after his previous tenure was upended by a 13-9 upset loss to the Panthers in 2007, ending WVU’s national title hopes.

Find more coverage of the WVU football program at WV Sports Now.

For a related story, WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez takes blame for the loss to Ohio.