Sunday Morning Thoughts: Contenders Can't Get Conservative

Final analysis from West Virginia's win over Cincinnati.

Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the second straight game, West Virginia head coach Neal Brown was fortunate that his team was able to hang on to win after letting a 17-point lead evaporate in the second half. Blowing big leads has been an issue for this group going all the way back to the Backyard Brawl when they failed to close out a game in which they led by 10 with three minutes and some change on the clock.

Nicco Marchiol is still fairly inexperienced as a starting quarterback, but your offense can't go into a shell because you're afraid to swing and miss on a knockout punch. The teams in this league are too talented, and the coaches in this league are too good to have a conservative approach, even when up double digits. You have to keep your foot on the gas, and that doesn't necessarily mean playing uptempo. It's more about continuing to push the ball down the field, throwing it over the middle, and not running a predictable three or four plays which lead to a punt.

At some point this season, if the Mountaineers don't get this fixed, you'll see the Backyard Brawl finish all over again and that would be the final nail in the coffin for WVU's Big 12 title hopes.

Don't get me wrong, winning in the Big 12 is incredibly hard, and even doing so on the road. But this is a Cincinnati team that is still building its way up to being Big 12 caliber. The record can be deceiving. They've played a relatively light schedule, and the only team they beat that is worth noting is Arizona State, who was without their starting quarterback for that game.

This is why I have a hard time believing West Virginia is actually a contender in this Big 12 title race. They struggle to put the average teams away and get embarrassed by good teams in one way or another. To be firmly in the mix, you can't have that as part of your DNA.

The remainder of West Virginia's schedule sets up nicely for them to finish the year strong, regardless of who is in at quarterback. They'll have a two-game homestand, playing host to Baylor (5-4) and UCF (4-6) before wrapping up the regular season on the road at Texas Tech (6-4).

Of course, for the Mountaineers to punch a ticket to Dallas, they're going to need a bunch of help. But anything is possible thanks to the regularity of chaos in this conference.

Iowa State looked like they could run the table, and all of a sudden, they've dropped two straight. BYU has had a handful of scares and, at some point, will likely take one on the chin. Colorado seems to be heating up and is right on BYU 's tail, but after those two near the top, you have four 4-2 teams (Iowa State, Kansas State, Arizona State, and West Virginia) all hoping to take care of business and have some things fall their way.

But as we've seen several times this season and in recent years, this staff has not been able to get this team focused for a big-time stage or must-win game. Will that change down the stretch? We'll see.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI

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Mountaineer Postgame Show: WVU 31, Cincinnati 24

Initial Thoughts: West Virginia Has to Learn How to Finish Stronger, Put Teams Away

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