West Virginia to the Big 12: Mountaineers Won't Be a Big Fish in the Big 12

The conference realignment is beginning to take shape as the Big 12 has finally decided on who they will take from the Big East. The winner is West Virginia as the Mountaineers were picked over the Louisville Cardinals. 

It is reported that the Big 12's board of directors have gotten together this morning and have voted the Mountaineers in as their 10th member. This move almost guarantees that Missouri will be on the move to the SEC because the Big 12 would have no reason to add an 11th team if the Tigers were going to stay.

Although this move is good for West Virginia because they're leaving the Big East (which is losing members daily), the Mountaineers can't expect to compete, at least not right away. 

This is no longer the Big East you're playing in. You're no longer playing schools that are basketball programs that just happen to have a football team.

This is the Big 12 where six teams are currently in the BCS rankings and a few others are good enough to be ranked as well. This conference is loaded from top to bottom and there could be an argument made that they are right up there with the SEC in terms of competition. This year for sure.

Teams like Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are almost always in the National Championship conversation, while teams like Texas Tech, Missouri and Baylor earn at least a quality-win every season.

This isn't the Big East where you're playing teams like Connecticut, South Florida and Louisville. All of those teams have their good years, but they are very inconsistent and are far from National powerhouses.

That is the main problem with West Virginia as well. Sure, they have their success in the Big East but there is very little consistency. The Mountaineers have lost 16 games in the last three-and-a-half seasons. That may be a lot better than most of the Big East schools, but when you're playing weak competition, it should be a lot better than that.

Just look at the game against LSU earlier this year. Sure, they competed and made it a game for the most part, but you never really felt they had a chance to win that game. The Tigers were way too physical and had more than enough speed to match the Mountaineers offensive attack.

Joining the Big 12 will make every game the Mountaineers play like that as most of the teams in the conference bring that same physicality that LSU brings.

West Virginia has a lot to offer the Big 12 with a strong fan base, big stadium and a program that can compete for the most part.

I just don't expect the Mountaineers to compete from day one, and it will take some time before they become a team like Texas or Oklahoma.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]

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