West Virginia Is Showing It Is a Legit Contender for the Big 12 Title

It's tough to see a two-loss team making the inaugural College Football Playoff, and that's the boat the West Virginia Mountaineers are in after hiccups against Alabama and Oklahoma. 

But Saturday's 34-10 thumping of the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Stillwater proves one thing: WVU is squarely in the hunt for the Big 12 title and could very well spoil the conference's chances for a playoff berth in the process. 

Currently, Kansas State leads the Big 12 standings, as they are unbeaten in league play. They're followed by three teams—TCU, Baylor and the Mountaineers. 

What's important about that is that WVU has the head-to-head advantage over Baylor, while still having games with K-State and TCU—both at home—left on the docket. 

So believe it or not, the team picked eighth in the preseason Big 12 poll, ranking ahead of only lowly Iowa State and Kansas, controls its own destiny as it enters the back third of its schedule. 

The Mountaineers have put themselves in this position thanks in large part to the rise of Clint Trickett as one of the best gunslingers in the nation, and that of his partner in crime Kevin White, who leads college football in receiving yards with 1,047. 

On Saturday, Trickett was up to his usual tricks—throwing for 238 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions on 21-of-30 passing. 

Over the course of the season, he's now accumulated 2,768 yards and 17 touchdowns through the air, thrown just five interceptions and is at the helm of a team that scores 36.8 points per game. 

White's been even more spectacular, hauling in eight touchdowns—although against the Cowboys he was shut down to the tune of 27 yards on three catches. But he still had a touchdown grab. 

This squad is a far cry from the WVU of 2013, a team that went 4-8, lost to Kansas and put Dana Holgorsen on the hot seat. 

Much of the team's resurgence has come on the defensive end. Last year, the Mountaineers were ranked 104th in total defense, giving up 468.5 yards per game. They were also 101st in scoring defense, giving up 34.8 points a game. 

In 2014, the Mountaineers have made slight jumps, ranking 76th in total defense (425.7) and 87th in scoring defense (31.7) through their first seven games. Their scoring-defense rank will likely skyrocket after giving up just 10 points to the Cowboys. 

While those aren't massive jumps, it's still noticeable improvement and enough to give the Mountaineers, who possess one of the best offense in college football, enough of a chance to win ballgames. 

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The biggest advantage that the Mountaineers have going forward is that the toughest games they have left are at home. 

Morgantown is often where dreams go to die. Oklahoma State would've won a Big 12 title last year had it not been for an early-season loss there. Then this season, Baylor fell behind the conference eight-ball with an upset loss there. 

WVU is 3-1 at home this year. In their three wins—Towson, Kansas, Baylor—the Mountaineers are averaging a 29-point margin of victory. 

The biggest challenges remain ahead for the Mountaineers. But ever since the Week 1 scare that Alabama suffered at the hands of WVU, Holorgen and Co. have been hard at work making believers out of the college football world. 

It's time to start believing that the Mountaineers can win the Big 12.