Geno Smith and West Virginia were impressive in yet another eventful win Saturday as they picked up a road victory against No. 11 Texas, 48-45. But the Mountaineers will have more than that going for them when this week's college football rankings are released.
WVU was ranked No. 8 in last week's AP poll. No. 3 Florida State lost to NC State, No. 4 LSU lost to No. 10 Florida, and No. 5 Georgia was blown out by No. 6 South Carolina. No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Oregon aren't going anywhere, and No. 7 Kansas State won't lose any ground after wiping the floor with Kansas, but the Mountaineers will probably move up two spots, assuming that Florida gets a big reward in the rankings. The first few spots in the rankings might look something like this:
1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. South Carolina
4. Florida
5. Kansas State
6. West Virginia
7. LSU
8. Notre Dame
That's just a guess. I'd expect WVU to be at No. 6 when this week's rankings are released. Assuming nothing changes next week, when the Mountaineers play Texas Tech and Kansas State takes on Iowa State, WVU's October 20 home matchup against Kansas State is shaping up to be an even bigger game than the Texas matchup was. If you're a Mountaineers fan, it looks like it's time to really start getting excited.