Another wasted opportunity at home for the West Virginia Mountaineers this past weekend as they fell to the Baylor Bears, 49-35.

Much of the conversation entering the week was about who head coach Neal Brown would start at quarterback. He turned back to Garrett Greene, who had an okay day throwing the football but did add over 120 yards on the ground to help fuel the Mountaineers’ offensive attack. It wasn’t his best overall performance, but it was more than enough to win.

Unfortunately, West Virginia’s defense returned to its struggling ways, allowing 512 yards of offense, 329 of which came through the air. Baylor’s 35 first-half points were the most of any Big 12 team in a league game this season.

With the loss, the Mountaineers essentially eliminated themselves from a spot in the Big 12 championship game, and their bowl stock took a massive hit.

Action Network: Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. Army

Athlon Sports: Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. Tulane

CBS Sports: Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. Army

College Football Network: SERVPRO First Responder Bowl vs. East Carolina

College Football News: AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs. Vanderbilt

ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. Washington

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. Louisiana

West Virginia On SI: AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs. Arkansas

The Mountaineers have two games remaining in the regular season and must notch one more win to become bowl-eligible. This week, they’ll play host to the UCF Knights, who were everyone’s dark horse to win the Big 12 back in August. After getting out to a 3-0 start, the Knights lost five straight.

Despite most sportsbooks opening this week’s game with UCF as the favorite, I like West Virginia’s chances to get the win. They are a run-heavy team, and that’s the one thing the Mountaineer defense does fairly well.

If they fail to collect win No. 6 this weekend, it’ll all come down to their trip to Lubbock the following week. Texas Tech has Oklahoma State this Saturday and will likely be gunning for win No. 8 when West Virginia comes to town. If the Red Raiders win out, that will be their best regular season finish since 2009.

1. Valero Alamo Bowl vs Pac-12, Saturday, Dec. 28, 7:30 p.m. EST, ABC

2. Pop-Tarts Bowl vs ACC/ND, Saturday, Dec. 28, 3:30 p.m. EST, ABC

3. TaxAct Texas Bowl vs SEC, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m. EST, ESPN

4. AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs SEC, Friday, Dec. 27, 7:00 p.m. EST, ESPN

5. Guaranteed Rate Bowl vs Big Ten, Thursday, Dec. 26, 5:30 p.m. EST, ESPN

6. Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. Pac 12, Saturday, Dec. 28, 9:15 p.m. EST, ESPN

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Between The Eers: The Morning After Baylor

A championship-caliber clash played out Sunday on Lakeside Field, with No. 2 Northwestern and unseeded Virginia battling for a coveted NCAA tournament semifinal berth. 

Two battle-tested teams from the nation’s premier conferences exchanged blows like prized fighters. Neither group would gift wrap a win for its opponent with a fatal error — someone had to find an extra gear to garner an elusive victory.

Coach Tracey Fuchs’ squad had been in this situation before, prevailing 3-2 over Louisville in last season’s quarterfinal, knocking off Iowa in a shootout during the 2022 Elite Eight and defeating the Hawkeyes 1-0 on that same stage in 2021. 

For Fuchs, her team’s experience in close contests throughout the campaign built the foundation for postseason success. She’d watched her squad secure a comeback 3-2 victory at Princeton, grind out a 2-1 overtime win at Michigan and suffer its lone loss to the Wolverines in the conference championship. Sunday, it was win or go home.

“We’ve been in five, six really tough battles — maybe even more than that,” Fuchs said. “That’s what makes championship teams.”

In a game that packed several lead changes, yellow cards, a disallowed goal and an overtime winner, the Wildcats (21-1, 8-0 Big Ten) defeated the Cavaliers (14-5, 6-2 ACC) 3-2. The win punched the program’s ticket to a fourth consecutive Final Four.

The ’Cats trailed for the first time in NCAA tournament play, falling behind on Virginia midfielder Suze Leemans’ penalty corner conversion with 74 seconds remaining in the first half. The disciplined Cavalier defense held NU to just four shots in the opening 30 minutes.

Still, Fuchs said she felt a breakthrough was imminent at halftime. She added that she was pleased with her team’s first-half effort — it just needed a few bounces to go its way.

“We knew there was nothing drastic that needed to happen — we just had to keep plugging away, keep finishing,” senior midfielder Maddie Zimmer said.

The hosts found just that in the third quarter, with freshman midfielder Elaine Velthuizen nabbing an equalizer and sophomore forward Ashley Sessa scoring the go-ahead goal. The ’Cats fired six shots during the frame — good for Virginia’s total shot output Sunday.

NU seemingly carried all the momentum, leading 2-1 as the final quarter approached.

“I came in after the third (quarter) and knew we were in a good spot,” Fuchs said. “You just look around, and when you have the leadership you have with these guys, my job is easy. I know they’re going to be ready for the next whistle.”

But the Cavaliers’ comeback push packed a potent punch. Virginia midfielder Daniela Mendez-Trendler recorded her eighth goal of the season just 28 seconds into the fourth quarter, tying the game at 2-2. 

Midway through the period, sophomore forward Olivia Bent-Cole celebrated a would-be winner on a redirected effort in front of the net. The NU sideline erupted in relief, but a minutes-long video review ensued.

As Lakeside Field’s once raucous crowd dissipated to a hushed whisper, the referee waved off Bent-Cole’s effort, setting up a contentious final seven minutes. With neither side pulling ahead in the closing moments, the ’Cats headed to their second overtime period this season. 

Ahead of Sunday’s clash, Fuchs watched Amazon Prime Video’s docuseries “Face Off: Inside the NHL.” She said she had one major takeaway from the show as Zimmer and graduate student midfielder Lauren Wadas lined up in their usual spots for an extra-time penalty corner.

“Your best players just need to make one good play,” Fuchs said. “They don’t have to make eight, nine, and although (Wadas) made more than one good play today, that’s the play we’ll remember. You want to put the game on these guys’ shoulders because you know they can carry the load.”

When the ball broke to Wadas’ ideal spot in the shooting circle, the fifth-year — who’d been a key architect to NU’s three consecutive national championship appearances — left no doubt. 

It was a tailor-made play call for an All-American difference-maker. Amid a high-stakes contest, where every moment carried the weight of a potential winner, Wadas sent her team back to Ann Arbor: the site of the ’Cats’ first-ever national title in 2021.

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Granted the Hokies were on a bye week, but another week has gone to the wayside and Virginia Tech is still not bowl eligible. They’ll have two chances to get to six wins by the end of the season with matchups against Duke and Virginia. The Hokies are still nationally regarded as a sure bowl team, but the margin for error is getting smaller and smaller for Brent Pry and the Hokies.

ESPN- Kyle Bonagura

After the Hokies bye week in week twelve, Kyle Bonagura switched up his bowl projections for Virginia Tech after predicting them to land in the Union Home Mortage Gasparilla Bowl against West Virginia last week.

This week, he still has the Hokies facing off against a Big 12 opponent, but this time setting up a matchup against Cincinnati in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. That game will be played on January 3rd in Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

ESPN- Mark Schlabach

As usual, Mark Schlabach went a different direction than his counterpart at ESPN. This week, Schlabach projected that the Hokies will face off against Arkansas in the Birmingham Bowl.

Arkansas was a team that seemed like it could have an outside run at the College Football Playoff earlier in the year, but the Razorbacks now stand at just 5-5, the exact record Virginia Tech also holds. This matchup could be a big “prove it” game for Brent Pry as the Hokies would travel to SEC country to take on a strong Arkansas team that beat Tennessee earlier in the season.

247Sports- Brad Crawford

Crawford of 247Sports matched the Hokies up against a group-of-five Playoff contender in his latest bowl projections.

His projections landed the Hokies in the Fenway Bowl against Tulane, a team which could legitimately sneak their way into the College Football Playoff. Tulane just beat Navy 35-0, and seeing a rematch between an impressive Tulane team and a very strong Virginia Tech team could be a very interesting bowl game.

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