MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia is ranked No. 13 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of 2018.
The CFP committee announced the rankings on Tuesday night. The Mountaineers (6-1) are the second-highest ranking team in the Big 12 behind No. 7 Oklahoma. West Virginia visits No. 17 Texas this week.
Iowa State, which handed West Virginia its only loss, checked in at No. 24 in the rankings despite a 4-3 record.
The Mountaineers rank lower in the CFP than they do in either the AP Top 25 (12th) or the Coaches Poll (10th). It is, however, West Virginia’s highest mark in the CFP rankings since the playoff was created in 2014. The previous best was 14th on Nov. 15, 2016.
The four highest-ranked teams at the end of the season reach the playoff.
Injured linebackers cleared for return
Linebackers Quondarius Qualls and Brendan Ferns are both medically cleared to rejoin the team in practice this week, West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen confirmed on Tuesday. But that does not necessarily mean either player will be on the field against Texas.
“The two long-term guys that have been hurt for six months are ready to play,” Holgorsen said. “I’m not saying that they’re playing or starting or anything like that. They’ve got to practice. If they help us, we play them. If they’re not ready to go and they can’t help us, we don’t play them.”
Both linebackers tore their ACLs in separate spring practice injuries. JoVanni Stewart moved from safety to replace Qualls at outside linebacker, while Dylan Tonkery took over for Ferns at middle linebacker. Tonkery himself has been banged up the past two games, replaced in the lineup by Shea Campbell.
“Tonkery’s in the same boat and [defensive back Derrek} Pitts is in the same boat,” Holgorsen said. “We’ve got guys coming back. Whenever they’re ready to roll, we’ll put them out there.”
One personnel change that won’t happen – Stewart moving back to safety even if Qualls is 100 percent.
“Maybe we can rest [Stewart] on third down, but I’m not going to mess up what we’ve built and where we’re at right now,” said defensive coordinator Tony Gibson. “We have pretty good momentum, and our kids are playing well together. We’re not going to screw that up right now.”
Open-field Legg tackle
A week ago, Holgorsen didn’t know much about Mountaineers backup kicker Casey Legg. He knew the walk-on from Charleston was on the roster, but that was about it.
But with Evan Staley kicking off eight times on top of five field goal attempts against Baylor, Holgorsen decided to empty his bench at that position, too. After West Virginia went up 44-0, he put Legg into the game.
As you might expect, there was a catch with the backup kicker – he hadn’t actually appeared in a football game before. Legg was a soccer star at Cross Lanes Christian.
“He’s nervous now. He’s never played football his entire life,” Holgorsen said. “So he kicked it and it went to the 10. It was a bad kick.”
Baylor returned the kick 34 yards, putting Legg into the very unfamiliar role of tackler. But somehow he found a way to bring down Josh Fleeks.
“Casey fills the hole and tackles the kid out of sheer fright. He fills a hole and grabs him and rodeos him to the ground,” Holgorsen sasid. “The guy has played one snap of football, and has one tackle.”
His aim is true
Fans pining to see backup quarterback Jack Allison get a chance to throw the ball around got their wish against Baylor. The 6-foot-6 sophomore was 4-for-4 with a 36-yard touchdown pass to Gary Jennings that pleased his coaches.
“I was fired up for him. He ripped it in there,” said offensive coordinator Jake Spavital. “Gary was wide open. A lot of guys would baby that throw. He trusted Gary with his route.
“It’s pleasing to me to see that with all the hard work he’s put in. It’s been a lot of hard work for that kid.”
Mohawk bragging rights
Linebacker Shea Campbell returned to his old stomping grounds to watch Morgantown High take on University in the Mohawk Bowl at Pony Lewis Field last Friday.
After 55-10 Mohigans win, he got a little bragging rights against current teammate and UHS alum Billy Kinney.
“We go back and forth,” Campbell said. “He didn’t have a lot to go back to this week, though.”
-Sean Manning contributed to this report.