West Virginia Football Spring Game 2017: 5 things to watch for

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Oct 10, 2015; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Jordan Thompson catches a pass during the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Milan Puskar Stadium. Oklahoma State won the game 33-26. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Where do the Mountaineers fall in the Big 12 hierarchy?

The Big 12 is always interesting to dissect in the football hierarchy. We usually know that Oklahoma will finish near the top, while Kansas usually hangs out at the bottom of the standings. From there, it’s usually up in the air about how the Big 12 sorts itself out.

Last fall, West Virginia was the third-best team in the Big 12 behind only Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. West Virginia has yet to emerge as either the best or the worst team in the Big 12 since joining the conference in 2012. How could they do this year?

Grabbing Kansas State, Texas and Oklahoma at the tail-end of the season is brutal. Kansas State is usually solid. Texas should be better under new head coach Tom Herman. Oklahoma is a blue-blood if there ever was one. Virginia Tech in the non-conference is a tough draw. Basically, the Mountaineers need to win at least four games in Big 12 play to go bowling.

Questionable bowl eligibility will be a talking point at the Gold-Blue Spring Game on Saturday. West Virginia is a type of program that should still be able to win seven games annually in a down year. If the spring game is sloppy, fans might begin to fall out of favor with Holgorsen yet again.

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