Big 12 Power Rankings: Baylor, Kansas, and Oklahoma State All have Big Weekends

Nov 16, 2013; Lawrence, KS, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Dana Holgorsen reacts after a penalty called against his team against the Kansas Jayhawks in the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

10. West Virginia Mountaineers

Record: 4-7 (2-6)

Previous Ranking: 7

Last Week: KU 31, West Virginia 19

This Week: Bye

Next Week: vs Iowa State

You can’t lose to Kansas. You simply cannot lose to Kansas.

West Virginia had it all set up to notch another bowl bid and put themselves in a decent position this spring for a solid bounce-back season. All they needed to do was beat the two worst teams in the conference, one of which hadn’t won a conference game in three years, and they would have been good to go.

Instead, West Virginia laid a huge egg on Saturday in Lawrence. The score does not indicate how thoroughly dominated the Mountaineers were by Kansas. KU was up 31-7 with less than seven minutes remaining in the game, had rushed for over 300 yards, and held WVU to 238 total yards before allowing to long touchdown drives in garbage time.

In fact, Kansas needed only five completions on 12 attempts to beat West Virginia. That’s horrifying.

The last two teams Kansas has beaten in conference fired their head coach by the end of the season, which leads one to wonder what the job security is like for Dana Holgorsen. West Virginia is going to miss a bowl game for the first time since 2001, and have a 6-13 record since beginning last season with a 5-0 start.

Yes, West Virginia is in rebuilding mode, so that should help Holgorsen out when arguing for his job. And losing Tavon Austin, Geno Smith, and Stedman Bailey all at once doesn’t make things easier.

But you can’t lose to Kansas.