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I understand why WV thinks they should move to the Big 12, but I've thought alot about how they will perform in football in the Big 12 over time. In my opinion, the biggest beneficiary of the moves of Miami, BC, and VT to the ACC was West Virginia as they became the top dog in the BE and benefitted by playing in (and winning) 3 BCS bowls. In addition, because they played in the BE, the Northeastern media paid attention. I think we will look back and call this the golden age of WV football as they were consistently a very good team and the standard bearer for a conference. (I think Miami has suffered from the same issues with their move to the ACC.)
In the Big 12, WV will not and will never be the top dog as that will always be Texas and Oklahoma. WV will probably battle it out for the 3rd spot in the conference with Oklahoma St., TCU, and Texas Tech over time. Baylor and Kansas St are on the upswing, but I don't think it's sustainable over time. This is not to say that WV can't win the Big 12 in a given year, but it's unlikely to win the conference consistently over time. Will the WV fans be happy with 8-4 or 7-5 seasons? Will WV be ignored as the geographical outlier in the Big 12? Will recruiting hold up as the memory of BCS bowls fades?
Clearly, it will be more fun for WV fans to see Texas and Oklahoma visit Morgantown over seeing SMU and Houston visit. But, expect more losses. According to the Sagarin ratings, WV would have been ranked 7th in the New Big 12 last year.
My prediction, in 10 years, WV football will be a middle of the pack B12 team and they will suffer a couple of seasons of 6-6 or worse.
In the Big 12, WV will not and will never be the top dog as that will always be Texas and Oklahoma. WV will probably battle it out for the 3rd spot in the conference with Oklahoma St., TCU, and Texas Tech over time. Baylor and Kansas St are on the upswing, but I don't think it's sustainable over time. This is not to say that WV can't win the Big 12 in a given year, but it's unlikely to win the conference consistently over time. Will the WV fans be happy with 8-4 or 7-5 seasons? Will WV be ignored as the geographical outlier in the Big 12? Will recruiting hold up as the memory of BCS bowls fades?
Clearly, it will be more fun for WV fans to see Texas and Oklahoma visit Morgantown over seeing SMU and Houston visit. But, expect more losses. According to the Sagarin ratings, WV would have been ranked 7th in the New Big 12 last year.
My prediction, in 10 years, WV football will be a middle of the pack B12 team and they will suffer a couple of seasons of 6-6 or worse.