MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia returned to the Top 25 rankings on Sunday, bolstered by a 3-0 start that played out easier than expected.
The Mountaineers surfaced at No. 23 in the Associated Press poll and at No. 21 in the coaches rankings. This week’s much-awaited matchup at Oklahoma finds the Sooners ranked 15th by the AP and No. 14 by the coaches.
The Oklahoma game kicks off at 11 a.m. Central on FoxSports1, not exactly a primo spot for one of the weekend’s better games.
After whipping Maryland 45-6 on Saturday, West Virginia closed the nonconference schedule by outscoring opponents 130-23. (That includes 74-0 the first half.)
The Mountaineers haven’t tasted the rankings since being upset 33-16 at Texas last Nov. 8.
Big 12 rankings: TCU (4-0) sits No. 4 in the AP and No. 3 in the coaches poll, dropping a spot in both after needing a mini-miracle in Lubbock. A tipped fourth-down touchdown pass lifted the Frogs to a wild 55-52 win over Texas Tech (3-1), a matchup that featured 70 first downs, 1,357 yards of offense and zero turnovers.
It seems a foregone conclusion that Gary Patterson’s attrition-ravaged defense won’t allow TCU to go undefeated, but will the wackiness of what happened Saturday potentially keep a one-loss Frogs team out of the College Football Playoff? The perceived luck of Josh Doctson’s tip-six deflection to Aaron Green could factor against TCU should the committee face another razor-thin decision in December. Then again, as Bear Bryant used to mumble, “a man makes his own luck.”
Baylor (No. 5/No. 4) and Oklahoma State (No. 20/No.19) are the other Big 12 teams currently ranked. While the Bears (3-0) have dismembered their usual spate of weak early-season opponents, the Cowboys (4-0, 1-0) benefited from another Texas special-teams meltdown to rally for a 30-27 win in Austin.