West Virginia is coming off its best season since 2016, ultimately removing Neal Brown from the hot seat. Expectations for the Mountaineers are at an all-time high in the Brown era with a dynamic rushing attack to go along with one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country. The schedule, however, is not as favorable as it was in 2023.
Today, we rank every game on West Virginia's schedule by difficulty going from easiest to toughest.
After going 6-20 from 2020-22, the Danes posted an 11-4 record in 2023. They're trending in the right direction, but won't strike much fear into the Mountaineers. They're not quite on the level James Madison was before they made the move up or even Youngstown State.
11. vs. Baylor (11/6)
The Bears had the perfect recipe for a bad year in 2023 - an offense that couldn't score and a defense that couldn't stop anyone. Some folks in Texas believe Baylor may actually be in a worse spot in 2024, so there's no shot of an upset in Morgantown.
In most year's this game would be rated much higher. Pitt lost five key pieces of their defense to the transfer portal and have a ton of question marks on the offensive side of the ball. For a team coming off a three-win season, they may be fired up to prove people wrong early, especially against their rival, but I don't see West Virginia having many issues in this one.
9. at Cincinnati (11/9)
I'll be flat out honest, I don't get the hype around Arkansas QB transfer KJ Jefferson. I'm aware he had a pretty solid career in the SEC, but he's not going to be able to elevate the Knights to a spot where they're contending in the Big 12. UCF still has a ways to go in terms of filling out their depth before really causing problems in this league. WVU and others need to take advantage of the lack of depth now because that day of UCF being a problem is rapidly approaching.
7. vs. Iowa State (10/12)
The Cyclones' offense took a long time to hit its stride last year, partially because they didn't have that bell cow in the backfield that Matt Campbell always seems to have. Abu Sama III eventually emerged as that guy, helping ISU finish 5-2 in its last seven regular season games. If the 2024 matchup was in Ames, this would be a little higher. Seven feels look the right spot with this one being at Mountaineer Field.
Texas Tech was the preseason darling last year, but couldn't recover after a slow start. The injury to Tyler Shough against WVU certainly didn't help as the Red Raiders ended up starting three different quarterbacks throughout the year. I'm expecting Tech to bounce back and playing in Lubbock is never easy.
5. vs. Kansas (9/21)
For years, teams looked forward to playing Kansas. They knew they had an automatic win and could pretty much coast to victory without playing their starters the entire game. Thanks to Lance Leipold, those days are history. The Jayhawks are a serious contender in the Big 12, assuming QB Jalon Daniels can stay healthy.
K-State was my preseason pick to win the Big 12 last year, but they fell a little short. Four losses, all by one score. At the end of the season, they turned the offense over to Avery Johnson, who showed in limited action why he was a five-star QB coming out of high school. Mountaineer fans should be thanking the Big 12 schedule makers that this one is in Morgantown.
3. at Arizona (10/26)
Morgantown to Tuscon for a conference game. Got to love the sound of that, right? The longest trip of the season could play a big role in West Virginia's chances to make it to Dallas for the Big 12 title game, especially with a couple of should-be wins waiting in Cincinnati and Baylor. Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan form one of the best passing connections in the country and will give WVU's defense a ton of problems.
I counted Oklahoma State out last year before the season started and once again, Mike Gundy made me look like a fool. I'm not going to make the mistake of overlooking the Cowboys once again. Ollie Gordon might be the best back in the country and West Virginia got a good taste of him running wild all over Jordan Lesley's defense in 2023. WVU has won in Stillwater just twice since joining the Big 12, making this the toughest road matchup of the season.
1. vs. Penn State (8/31)
The top spot goes to the season opener against Penn State. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to throw a conference game here, but this is the tone-setter. So much hype, so many expectations for this team in 2024 and the very last thing you want to do is put up a dud on the national stage against a top 10 team at home. At worst, West Virginia has to be competitive in this one. A win really gets the hype train moving full steam ahead.
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