WVU Sits Just Outside of New AP Top 25 Poll After Taking Down Virginia

A big win in Charlotte over No. 25 Virginia has people paying attention to the West Virginia Mountaineers all of a sudden.

The Cavaliers entered the game coming off the best season in program history, a dominating outing against NC State in Week 0 and a beatdown of FCS foe Norfolk State. Nearly everyone around college football felt Virginia could be on track for a playoff berth. It's still possible, considering they are 1-0 in ACC play, but the Mountaineers were the talk of the town on Saturday night.

While the win didn't catapult West Virginia into the AP Top 25, it did lead to them receiving some votes in this week's poll.

This week's Top 25

1. Texas
2. Georgia
3. Notre Dame
4. Ole Miss
5. Indiana
6. Miami (FL)
7. Ohio State
8. Alabama
9. BYU
10. LSU
11. Texas Tech
12. USC
13. Penn State
14. Tennessee
15. Utah
16. Louisville
17. Iowa
18. Michigan
19. Missouri
20. Oregon
21. Florida
22. SMU
23. Texas A&M
24. Mississippi State
25. Houston

Receiving Votes

Washington 107, Kentucky 98, West Virginia 93, Oklahoma 91, Oklahoma State 50, Boise State 48, Virginia Tech 46, Western Michigan 27, Duke 20, Tulsa 18, Arizona 12, Pittsburgh 10, UCLA 10, James Madison 7, North Dakota State 6, Kansas State 3, Nebraska 2

One more win and you're in???

Sep 19, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver DJ Epps (2) catches a pass for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Virginia Cavaliers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

I would have to think so. I'll be honest, I didn't think WVU would receive as many votes as they did, so they are absolutely within striking distance. Even by the end of Week 4, there aren't a boatload of Power Four teams still unbeaten. And for West Virginia, beating a ranked Virginia team and following that up with a win over Oklahoma State, who everyone respects, especially following their upset of Oregon two weeks ago, is quite a resume through four games.

Now, of course, some of those teams ranked toward the bottom of the rankings are going to have to lose to open up a path, but there always seems to be one or two, sometimes three, between 20 and 25 who lose and drop out.

If they do win next Saturday against Oklahoma State and get ranked, it will snap an eight-year drought for the Mountaineers, who haven't been ranked since the end of the 2018 season when they landed 20th in the final poll.

Getting ranked is great, and all for the program, but at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is going 1-0 every week. You do that, and everything else will take care of itself.

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