It was a stress-free weekend for West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez and Mountaineer fans everywhere, who were able to take a deep breath after some wild, yet thrilling victories in back-to-back weeks over Cincinnati and TCU.

Obviously, they didn't improve or hurt their bowl stock during the bye, but there are some new projections out ahead of Week 10 that have the Mountaineers playing in different locations against new opponents we haven't seen them projected against yet.

This week's bowl projections

Athlon Sports: Liberty Bowl vs. Oklahoma
CBS Sports: Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. UConn
College Football News: Boca Raton Bowl vs. Florida Atlantic
ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Puerto Rico Bowl vs. UMass
ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. Iowa
Sports Illustrated: Cactus Bowl vs. Nebraska
West Virginia On SI: Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. Louisiana Tech

Can WVU get one more win?

Remaining schedule

at No. 13 Texas Tech (6-1)
vs. Kansas (3-4)
vs. No. 18 Houston (6-2)
at No. 6 Utah (7-0)

My stance on this hasn't changed. I definitely think the Mountaineers will get the one win needed to become bowl-eligible; the question is more about how many more wins they can get beyond beating Kansas, which, to me, feels like a near lock at this point.

They are massive underdogs for this week's game on the road at Texas Tech, but if the offense brings its A game, then anything is possible in a back-and-forth affair.

The home game against Houston feels like their best shot of the three ranked teams remaining on the docket. They have a super-efficient offense, but the defense is prone to giving up some yards, specifically through the air, where they rank 123rd nationally.

Utah looks like an absolute machine right now and is making its case to be the best team in the country. The thought of winning that game, at night, on Black Friday, when they are playing for something really big, seems like a long shot.

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)