WVU Remains Projected to Meet Familiar Old Big East Opponent in Bowl

With the regular season now over, bowl projections will be even more of a topic of conversation this week. In the latest bowl projection by the Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, WVU is still lined up to meet a familiar old rival.

West Virginia’s win over Baylor doesn’t change anything for McMurphy. The veteran media member keeps the Mountaineers matched up with Syracuse in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas on Dec. 23.

My new @ActionNetworkHQ bowl projections. We know who’s in, so where are they going? @CFBPlayoff: UGA-FSU, Michigan-Oregon; Orange: UL-Ohio St; Fiesta: Bama-Washington; Cotton: Mizzou-Texas; Peach: PSU-Tulane; Sun: Miami-USC; Citrus: Ole Miss-Iowa ⤵️https://t.co/mK17lt3N8a

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 27, 2023

This would pit an 8-4 WVU team up against a 6-6 Syracuse team that fired its head coach. The Orange recently fired head coach Dino Babers on Sunday. This would be the first time since 2018 that the two old Big East foes matchup

McMurphy told WVSN that West Virginia would finish 6-6 before the season started.

Other Big 12 bowl projections: Texas (Cotton Bowl), Iowa State (Liberty Bowl), Oklahoma (Alamo Bowl), Kansas State (Pop-Tarts Bowl), Oklahoma State (Texas Bowl), Kansas (Guaranteed Rate Bowl), UCF (Gasparilla Bowl), Texas Tech (Independence Bowl).

Like the one for West Virginia, these projections are also the same as last week.

McMurphy moved WVU into bowl contention after beating Pitt at home in the Backyard Brawl. West Virginia won four consecutive games after the Penn State loss, which is the first time since 2018 that the program has done so. It’s also the first time since 2018 that HC Neal Brown has won four in a row, back when he was at Troy. West Virginia then suffered a heartbreaking loss to Houston after a Hail Mary throw and then allowed 28 points in the fourth quarter to Oklahoma State at home. The Mountaineers got back on track with back-to-back wins over UCF and BYU to become bowl-eligible and then finished the season 8-4.