West Virginia quarterback Garrett Green, 6, expressed his joy after scoring a rushing touchdown during last week’s game. (Photo by David Pennock)
MORGANTOWN — The window for postseason eligibility for West Virginia University and the UCF football team is rapidly closing.
There’s still room for the Mountaineers to wiggle into a bowl game, but not by much. They need to win one of their final two games to qualify for the postseason. The window is mostly closed for the Knights. UCF needs to win its remaining two games to get the six wins needed to guarantee eligibility.
Both teams understand the stakes for today’s 3:30pm clash at the Milano Pascar Stadium (ESPNU). The climber and the knight both have their backs to the wall. If the Mountaineers lose, they will put everything on the line going into the final regular season game at Texas Tech. If the Knights lose, they have nothing to do but pride and be depressed about their last game.
“I’m looking forward to two more guaranteed chances.” WVU tight end Cole Taylor said. “You can’t dwell on what happened in the past.”
But it’s past play that has gotten the Mountaineers (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) and Knights (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) into their current predicament. Both teams entered the season with much higher expectations than they do now, hoping to finish at or near the top of the conference standings with a chance at the Big 12 title game.
Inconsistency and poor defense cost WVU. The Mountaineers had some good wins on the road, but slumped at home thanks in large part to a pass defense that ranked near the bottom of the Football Bowl Division in several key categories. If WVU loses today in Morgantown, it will be the second season in program history with five losses.
The Knights started the 2024 season strong with three straight wins, but have lost five of their past six games, including a five-game winning streak midway through the season. UCF’s pass defense has struggled again this year. He has allowed 19 passing touchdowns, which is tied for 108th in the FBS, but he has allowed 21 passing touchdowns, which is tied for 120th in the FBS. The Knights allow 239.5 passing yards per game, ranking 96th nationally, while WVU allows 269.6 passing yards per game, ranking 127th.
As it stands, both teams rely on their running games to run their respective offenses. WVU ranks 27th with 197.2 rushing yards per game. Only Army on the ground allows more yards than UCF’s 262.8 yards per game.
The Knights are led by running back RJ Harvey, who ranks third in the nation with 132.8 rushing yards per game.
WVU coach Neil Brown acknowledged the team’s strengths, but said the Mountaineers are still looking for a game where all those strengths come together and play at the same time.
“I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but the important thing to me is special teams, offense and defense at the same time, playing well. And we did that consistently enough. I haven’t.” he said. “We’ve been an inconsistent football team. We’re 5-on-5 because we’ve been inconsistent. So, for me, it’s how do we finish this month? The best in those three phases. Are we able to perform well? Well, if we can do that, we’ll be a really good soccer team.”
Mountaineers players agree they need to pitch complete games in their last two games to make their fourth bowl appearance in five seasons. Taylor said there is more tension in the locker room, and players understand what a lack of consistent performance can cost them.
“We understand that we have two games to win one.” “Just getting an extra game and a chance to play in the postseason. We understand that’s the situation we’re in and that’s our team,” he said. Masu.
“That’s the situation we’re in, whether we want to be in that situation or not.” Taylor continued. “We have to win at least one more to get to a bowl game, but we want to win.”
