West Virginia vs. Cincinnati: Will the Mountaineers Finally Make a Statement?

Julian Miller knows it, Don Barclay knows it and Bruce Irvin knows it.

Keith Tandy, Tyler Urban and Najee Goode?

They all know it too.

Every senior on the West Virginia roster knows what this weekend’s trip to Cincinnati means. They all know it represents one of the most crucial moments in every single one of their careers.

Yes, they are all well aware of the significance of the Saturday showdown with the No. 23 Bearcats.

This is undoubtedly the biggest game of their senior seasons.

Win, and you’re right back in the Big East race. Lose, and it’s time to start packing for the Belk Bowl.

After last week’s inexplicable home loss to Louisville, which dropped the Mountaineers to 2-2 in the Big East, I guess you can say that the bloom has officially come off the rose for first-year head coach Dana Holgorsen.

A mediocre performance in a prime-time national spotlight game against the No. 1 team in the country? Let’s face it, everyone was too drunk to even remember that night.

An embarrassing performance up at Syracuse in a Friday night showcase game? Well, now you're starting to push it.

A home loss to Louisville? Eh, OK, Dana, now you’ve taken things too far.

For a second there, I thought Bill Stewart was back roaming the sideline.Ya know?

The big theme this week has been about getting your players to come out and play with effort, desire and intensity, but that actually starts with the head coach.

If you want your players to give the proper effort, then you’ve got to do your part and motivate them.

Dana, leaving 15 “whiners” behind in Morgantown may be your idea of motivation, but if you’re only going to bring 55 players for the trip out to Cincinnati, can you at least make sure that a few of them can make a crucial third-down stop and a few of them can play special teams without a disaster?

Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon aren’t walking through that door, Dana. Whether you like it or not, you’re going to have to live and die with a quarterback who has tons of talent and one of the strongest arms in the country, but also has a propensity for holding onto the ball 1.2 seconds too long and a tendency to fumble at all the wrong times.

So be it.

We all know that this team has the talent to be 8-1 right now, but the fact is, here the Mountaineers are at 6-3, clawing to stay alive in the weakest of the six BCS conferences.

Something tells me that Bob Stoops and Mack Brown aren’t exactly shaking in their Big 12 boots.

I have a feeling that Cincinnati RB Isaiah Pead isn’t too scared either.

All week, Pead has probably been looking at the West Virginia defensive front seven on film and salivating.

Big East rushing title, here I come!

The question is, will the Mountaineers defenders put the last three weeks behind them and finally step up and slow down Pead, QB Zach Collaros and the rest of Cincinnati's explosive attack?

It’s a challenging task, but one that this team could finally be ready and motivated for.

No matter how you slice it, there’s no getting around the fact that this is truly a must-win game for West Virginia.

With the expectations that this team had going into the season, there weren’t many that would have expected the Mountaineers to have three losses at this point in the season.

Right now, this is a team that's in desperate need of some type of statement win, which could help catapult it to late-season success—facing off against the only ranked Big East team will afford West Virginia exactly that coveted opportunity. 

Now, we just have to see if the Mountaineers can put their past struggles behind them, finally kick it up a notch and make the most of all of their talent. 

Going into Cincinnati and coming out with a victory certainly won't be easy, but if all of those West Virginia seniors want to go out as conference champions, it will certainly be necessary.