New WVU Bowl Projection Comes With a Fascinating Twist

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

The West Virginia Mountaineers have lost consecutive Big 12 games, but one new bowl projection gives fans an interesting reason to keep thinking about what could still be waiting at the end of the season.

WVU fell to 3-2 following its 45-42 loss to Iowa State on Oct. 3. Rich Rodriguez’s team is now 0-2 in conference play and still needs three more victories to reach the traditional six-win mark for bowl eligibility. With seven games remaining, there is plenty of football left for that picture to change.

On3’s Brett McMurphy released his Week 6 bowl projections with West Virginia facing Florida State in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. The potential matchup in Tampa would be intriguing enough based on the names involved, but the history between Rodriguez, WVU and Florida State makes it considerably more interesting.

Rich Rodriguez Has Been Here Before

This would not be Rodriguez’s first postseason meeting with Florida State as West Virginia’s head coach.

Rodriguez led WVU against Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles in the 2005 Gator Bowl, where Florida State pulled away for a 30-18 victory. More than two decades later, McMurphy’s projection creates the possibility of Rodriguez getting another shot at the same program during his second stint in Morgantown. The history goes even deeper.

West Virginia has faced Florida State three times, and all three meetings have come in the Gator Bowl. The Seminoles won 31-12 in 1982, 30-18 in 2005 and 33-21 in 2010. That most recent meeting was particularly memorable because it marked Bowden’s final game as Florida State’s head coach after he previously spent six seasons leading WVU.

That makes this much more interesting than simply plugging two teams into a December bowl. West Virginia would have an opportunity to beat Florida State for the first time. Rodriguez could get another chance at a program that defeated his Mountaineers more than 20 years earlier. WVU would also be renewing a matchup that hasn’t been played since Bowden walked off the field for the final time in 2010.

Of course, none of this matters unless West Virginia starts winning again. The Mountaineers have allowed 1,186 total yards over their last two games, including 577 against Iowa State. WVU’s offense showed considerably more life against the Cyclones with 518 yards, but Rodriguez still needs to find three more wins just to make a bowl appearance possible.

If the Mountaineers get there, though, McMurphy has projected a matchup with far more history than meets the eye.

This article was originally published on HEAVY

The post New WVU Bowl Projection Comes With a Fascinating Twist appeared first on HEAVY.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos