5 reasons why West Virginia can make the College Football Playoff

West Virginia appears poised to crash the College Football Playoff this year. Here are five reasons why they’ll do it.

West Virginia is 6-0 for the first time since the heyday of Pat White, Steve Slaton and Owen Schmitt in 2006. Picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll, losses on the defensive side of the ball were supposed to sink the Mountaineers. Though the Big 12 as a conference may be disappointing this year, West Virginia is not. After playing Kansas State closely, they have broken out in conference play, handily beating Texas Tech and TCU.

Though some pegged them as a dark horse team, many have shrugged this off as the luck of a second tier team in a second tier conference. And though the Big 12 may not be the power conference it once was — only three teams are currently ranked — West Virginia should be taken seriously after two statement wins and a 6-0 start. The Mountaineers appear to be poised to make a run through the conference this year and could very well become this year’s surprise College Football Playoff participant. Here are five reasons why.

5. They are the best team in the Big 12

Three teams are currently undefeated in Big 12 play. No. 8-ranked Baylor and No. 16-ranked Oklahoma are tied with West Virginia atop the conference. Baylor remains untested, with its only quality victory coming in a close game against Oklahoma State. They narrowly escaped 1-5 Iowa State and stand as arguably the least tested top 10 team. Oklahoma just allowed a half mile of passing in their win over Texas Tech. Both the Baylor and Oklahoma defenses are suspect at best and will likely be the downfall of their teams.

West Virginia, on the other hand, has its most balanced squad in years. Senior quarterback Skyler Howard is averaging 303 passing yards per game and has the 17th best total quarterback rating in the nation according to ESPN. Led by bruising senior running back Rushel Shell and junior running back Justin Crawford, the West Virginia running game has averaged over 200 yards per game so far.

The Mountaineer defense has also been a revelation, allowing only 17.8 point per game so far. The Big 12 has a lot of offensive talent, but the Mountaineers appear to be the only team winning with a balanced attack. All aspects of West Virginia are clicking right now as evidenced by their last two blowout victories. The West Virginia Mountaineers are simply playing better football than anyone else in the Big 12.