The Countdown – #9

Over the next several weeks, Horn Sports is counting down the most important games of the 2014 football season. For this series, “most important games” will be defined as those having the biggest impact on the program’s outlook and the 2014 season.

The main question to ask is “How would a win help bolster Texas’s national perception?”

The Countdown: #9 West Virginia Mountaineers

Last 2 meetings:

2013: Win 47-40 in OT

2012: Loss 48-45

Breakdown:

This countdown has reached a point where teams being profiled are capable of beating Texas. West Virginia always plays the Longhorns tough – even though they went 4-8 last season, the Mountaineers took the Longhorns to overtime. WVU was also one of only two Big 12 teams to beat Oklahoma State in 2013. They are not an opponent to take lightly.

November games are very tough to predict with respect to how much a specific game will mean to national perception. For all we know in May, West Virginia could exceed expectations this Fall and Texas could have another raucous crowd in DKR. However, this is a home game and Texas should have their 2014 identity figured out. The national expectation is that Texas should always beat West Virginia, not the other way around. Beating West Virginia won’t do much to help Texas’s perception.

Good news for Texas fans: Charlie Strong beat West Virginia in his first year at Louisville. That same West Virginia team beat Clemson in the Orange Bowl 70-33.

About West Virginia:

West Virginia University is located in Morgantown, West Virginia. Morgantown is only 5 miles away from the state border with Pennsylvania. In fact, it’s closer to Pittsburgh, PA than it is to Charleston, WV (the state capitol). Notable alumni include Jerry West (the NBA logo), Billy Mays, Don Knotts, and Oliver Luck (who graduated from both WVU and Texas).

If you like CSI and think to yourself “Hey I want a career doing that work,” then WVU is perfect for you. It’s one of the best schools for forensic science in the nation. The university has actual laboratories like houses, cars and other real world scenarios where forensic students are taught the craft.