BUCKHANNON – Even WVU soccer can’t escape the curse of being WVU. The men’s soccer team rose all the way to No. 2 in the rankings after a big win over then No. 1 Marshall two weeks ago.
Well, the team went to Kentucky and lost a 1-0 decision to the 4-6-4 Wildcats. Like I said, West Virginia will always West Virginia. The team dropped from second to seventh in the latest rankings.
For those not aware, the Mountaineer men play in the Sun Belt since the Big XII doesn’t support men’s soccer and the Sun Belt is loaded this year. Despite being seventh in the nation, WVU is the third seed in the conference tournament. How tough is the Sun Belt? The conference features No. 1 UCF and No. 4 Marshall. So, three of the top seven teams in the nation reside in the Sun Belt this year.
The WVU football team is now just one win from being bowl eligible. While there is still a month left in the season, it is always fun to see where pundits have WVU going this postseason. This is what the experts are saying.
Athlon Sports – Liberty Bowl (WVU vs. Kentucky)
CBS Sports – Liberty Bowl (WVU vs. Auburn)
College Football Network – First Responder Bowl (WVU vs. UTSA)
ESPN Bonagura – Liberty Bowl (WVU vs. Missouri)
ESPN Schlabach – Armed Forces Bowl (WVU vs. Northwestern)
Fox Sports — Liberty Bowl (WVU vs. Tennessee)
The Athletic – Armed Forces Bowl (WVU vs. SMU)
USA Today – Liberty Bowl (WVU vs. Kentucky)
Yahoo Sports – Independence Bowl (WVU vs. Washington State)
In our little contest, I won the week with a 6-1 mark and finally grabbed the lead again with a 51-19 mark. Brian went 4-3 and slipped into second with a 50-20 mark. Monica went 4-3 to stay in third while Katie finished 5-2 for fourth place and Beckie posted a 3-4 mark to stay in fifth place.
A quick check of the My Buckhannon staff standings.
Name Week Overall
Duane 6-1 51-19
Brian 4-3 50-20
Monica 4-3 43-27
Katie 5-2 42-28
Beckie 3-4 39-31
In the Scoreboard Showdown this past week, we had one reader that was better than all the rest and that was JEREMY STRADER with a 6-1 record. Congrats to Jeremy for a great week. This week’s games can be found here. Get your picks in before the games kick off Friday night.
Now, onto our games this week.
University (4-5) at Oak Hill (8-1)
When the Bucs played Oak Hill, I honestly wasn’t that impressed by the Red Devils. They had padded their record with a pretty easy schedule. I was telling anyone that would listen that Oak Hill would get smashed when they play big boy football in the playoffs. Since then, Oak Hill picked up wins over Bluefield and Woodrow Wilson. Now neither are those teams are in the top 10 in their respective classes, but neither were games I thought they would win. A win over the No. 18 Hawks would certainly knock UHS out of the playoffs. Go Red Devils!
Duane: Oak Hill; Brian: Oak Hill; Monica: University; Katie: University; Beckie: University.
Fairmont State (7-2) at West Virginia Wesleyan (0-8)
My Alma Mater is on the brink of a playoff bid hopefully after being ranked eighth this week in the Super 1 Regional rankings. For those keeping track, Charleston is the other MEC team in the rankings coming in third. The Falcons have a tough one next week at home against Frostburg State. For Wesleyan, until they get their scholarshipping up to par with the rest of the MEC, they are going to remain in last place in a lot of sports. Leave coach Martin alone and let him do his job with the same resources as his counterparts.
Duane: Fairmont State; Brian: Fairmont State; Monica: Fairmont State; Katie: Fairmont State; Beckie: Fairmont State.
BYU (5-3) at WVU (5-3)
Both teams are 5-3 but the schedules are hardly equal. While WVU was playing non-conference games against Penn State and Pitt, BYU was playing Sam Houston State and Southern Utah. Their lone P5 non-conference game was a seven-point win over 2-6 Arkansas. With this game being at home, WVU should win this one.
Duane: WVU; Brian: WVU; Monica: WVU; Katie: WVU; Beckie: WVU.
The Final Four:
Philip Barbour (7-2) at Preston (2-7)
Duane: Philip Barbour; Brian: Philip Barbour; Monica: Philip Barbour; Katie: Philip Barbour; Beckie: Preston.
Fairmont Senior (6-2) at East Fairmont (8-1)
Duane: Fairmont Senior; Brian: Fairmont Senior; Monica: East Fairmont; Katie: Fairmont Senior; Beckie: Fairmont Senior.
Elkins (1-8) at Robert C. Byrd (2-7)
Duane: Robert C. Byrd; Brian: Robert C. Byrd; Monica: Robert C. Byrd; Katie: Robert C. Byrd; Beckie: Robert C. Byrd.
Marshall (4-4) at Appalachian State (4-4)
Duane: Appalachian State; Brian: Appalachian State; Monica: Marshall; Katie: Marshall; Beckie: Marshall.
