WVU Football Sits Right Behind Rival in Latest ESPN FPI

West Virginia’s win over UCF made the Mountaineers bowl eligible and created an interesting scenario in the ESPN FPI. WVU has now moved back inside the top 50, sitting one spot behind their Backyard Brawl rival.

The Mountaineers enter the final game of the regular season at No. 49, which puts them right behind Pitt, who dropped to their worst placement of the year at No. 48. The rivals are now only separated by Pitt’s head-to-head win in the 2024 edition of the Backyard Brawl.

In that game, Pitt stormed back from a 10-point deficit in the final minutes to win 38-34. But they have each experienced a completely different recent stretch to close their seasons.

WVU is 3-1 in their last four games while Pitt has lost four straight, including a couple designated as upset losses against Virginia and Louisville.

As always, it’s worth noting that the ESPN FPI is not a major selector and has offered controversial rankings throughout the season, most notably continuously placing teams West Virginia beat ahead of the Mountaineers. But with that said, this week’s ranking stands out for obvious reasons.

West Virginia, now 6-5 (5-3, Big 12), will close the year by appearing in the 41st bowl game in school history. Despite entering the game as a home underdog to a struggling Knights team, Garrett Greene and the Mountaineers ran all over UCF to the tune of 200 rushing yards.

How WVU Football Compares to Big 12, All of CFB in Bowl Game Appearances

So regardless of the continued discontent from fans, Brown and WVU can now relax a bit, knowing they’re bowl eligible as they head to Lubbock, Texas to close the season against Texas Tech.

As announced at the conclusion of the Big 12’s Week 13 games, the West Virginia and Texas Tech game will kickoff at noon ET and air nationally on FS1.

For a related story, WVU football received a really interesting bowl projection at the start of the week.