West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene (6) celebrates after scoring a rushing touchdown during last week’s game. (Photo by David Pennock)
MORGANTOWN – The postseason eligibility period is quickly closing for both the West Virginia University and UCF football teams.
There is still some room left for the Mountaineers to make a bowl game, but not much. To qualify for the postseason, they must win one of their last two games. The window is almost closed for the Knights. UCF must win their final two games to reach the six wins needed to guarantee eligibility.
Both teams understand the stakes of today’s match at 3:30 PM at the Milan Puskar Stadium (ESPNU). The Mountaineers and Knights both have their backs against the wall. If the Mountaineers lose, they will enter their regular season finale at Texas Tech with everything on the line. If the Knights lose, they’ll rush into their final game with nothing to play for but pride.
“We look forward to two more opportunities that are guaranteed,” WVU tight end Kole Taylor said. “You can’t dwell on what happened in the past.”
Still, it’s the play from the past that put both the Mountaineers (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) and the Knights (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) in their current situation. Both teams entered the season with much higher expectations than they have now and wanted to finish at or near the top of the conference standings with a shot at the Big 12 title game.
Inconsistency and poor defense doomed WVU. The Mountaineers have had some good wins but have run into trouble at home, thanks in large part to a pass defense that ranks near the bottom of the Football Bowl subdivision in several key categories. If WVU falls to Morgantown today, it will be only the second season in program history with five losses.
The Knights started the 2024 season strong with three straight wins, but lost five of their last six, including five in a row midway through the season. UCF’s pass defense has also struggled this year. It has allowed 19 passing touchdowns so far, tied for 108th in the FBS, compared to the 21 allowed by WVU, which is tied for 120th. The Knights rank 96th nationally allowing 239.5 passing yards per game, compared to WVU’s 269.6 passing yards allowed per game, which ranks 127th.
As it stands, both teams rely on their running games to carry their respective offenses. WVU ranks 27th with 197.2 rushing yards per game. Only Army gains more on the ground than UCF’s 262.8 yards per game.
The Knights are led by running back RJ Harvey, who ranks third nationally with 132.8 rushing yards per game.
WVU coach Neal Brown sees the strengths on his team, but said the Mountaineers are still looking for a game where all those strengths come together and shine at the same time.
“I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but for me it’s about playing well – special teams, offense and defense at the same time, and we haven’t done that consistently enough,” he said. “We have been an inconsistent football team. That’s why we’re 5-5, because we’ve been inconsistent. And so for me it’s: how do we end this month? Want to play our best together in those three phases? OK, if we can do that, then we’ll be a really good football team.”
The Mountaineer players agree they need complete games in their final two matches to ensure they can play in their fourth bowl in five seasons. There is a greater sense of urgency in the locker room, Taylor says, because the players understand what an inconsistent performance can cost them.
“We understand that it takes two (games) to win one,” he said, “just to get an extra game and get a chance to play in the postseason. We understand that this is where we are and this is the team we are.
“Whether we want to be in that situation or not, that’s the situation we’re in.” Taylor continued. “We have to win at least one more to get a bowl game, but we want to win.”
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