Week 11 Bowl Projections for WVU Include One Wacky Opponent

The West Virginia Mountaineers came oh so close to becoming bowl-eligible this past weekend in what would have been a statement way to do so against a top-15 team on the road. Unfortunately for Rich Rod's squad, they remain at five wins and will hope to get No. 6 this weekend when they return home for a game with the sliding Kansas Jayhawks.

Despite the loss to Texas Tech, virtually every reputable media outlet still has West Virginia going bowling. Let's take a look at the new batch of projections.

This week's bowl projections

Athlon Sports: Liberty Bowl vs. Auburn
CBS Sports: Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl vs. Army
College Football News: Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. Arizona State
ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. Washington
ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl vs. Nebraska
Sports Illustrated: Cactus Bowl vs. Penn State
The Athletic: Liberty Bowl vs. Missouri
West Virginia On SI: Cactus Bowl vs. Illinois

All of these games would be interesting, but ARIZONA STATE?!? A bowl matchup with a fellow member of the Big 12??? Well, that would be something, to say the least. The bowls try to prevent that from happening, but because the Independence Bowl has PAC-12 legacy teams as part of its tie-ins, that's how something like this could easily happen.

To be honest, I was going to project the Mountaineers to play Penn State in the Cactus Bowl, but since the mothership went with that, I switched the opponent to Illinois to add a different flavor.

GET READY TO COMPETE

Pick your champion (you can change it later). We’ll email you when brackets open.

No purchase necessary. 50 U.S./D.C. 18+. Entry opens 3PM ET Dec 6, 2026 and closes 8PM ET Dec 18, 2026. Void where prohibited.See for complete details. The College Football Playoff (CFP) is not a sponsor or administrator of this contest.

Remaining schedule

vs. Kansas (3-6)
vs. No. 14 Houston (7-2)
at No. 2 Utah (9-0)

This weekend is the one West Virginia needs to get. Not only because you don't want to have to become bowl-eligble against a ranked team, but because it's a game you should win, first and foremost. The Jayhawks have lost four of their last five and are 0-3 in true road games this season.

Big 12 Bowl ties for 2026-27 season

Valero Alamo Bowl — Tuesday, December 29, 2026
Pop-Tarts Bowl — Tuesday, December 29, 2026
Kinder’s Texas Bowl — Thursday, December 31, 2026
AutoZone Liberty Bowl — Saturday, January 2, 2027
Cactus Bowl — Saturday, December 26, 2026
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl — Tuesday, December 22, 2026
ESPN Events Pool of Games (several bowls with indirect ties)

Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter for the latest news and updates on the West Virginia Mountaineers

Add us as a preferred source on Google