Where WVU Ranks in ESPN's Preseason College Football Tier System

An interesting placement of the Mountaineers by ESPN.

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Expectations internally for West Virginia are much higher than they are nation-wide. For whatever reason, the rest of the country is either unaware or choosing to ignore the Mountaineers' nine-win season from a year ago and all that talent that returns from that team.

Even ESPN college football staff writer David Hale has West Virginia in an interesting spot. On Friday, Hale ranked all 134 FBS teams by putting them into tiers. He has WVU in Tier 7 along with a few familiar foes. There are 20 tiers in all. I included the tier ahead and behind the one West Virginia is featured in for context.

Tier 6: Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, SMU, Rutgers

Tier 7: Louisville, Kansas, Syracuse, Texas Tech, Utah, West Virginia

Tier 8: Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Iowa, Maryland, North Carolina, TCU, Wisconsin

"Texas Tech, Kansas and West Virginia are all in the mix in a chaotic Big 12, but all come with their share of questions, too. Someone from this group is about to take a big step forward, and perhaps capture a playoff bid -- it's just hard to pinpoint exactly which team it'll be. But that's the fun of August. Hope is endless. (And it's the hope that kills you.)"

I'm not exactly sure how in the world WVU comes in behind Rutgers, SMU, and Virginia Tech. I understand Oklahoma State and you can make an argument for Iowa State, but Rutgers, SMU, and Virginia Tech? Really?

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