Greg McElroy doesn't see this Big 12 team as anything more than a spoiler
Greg McElroy only has West Virginia as a Tier 3 team in the Big 12 -- which, to him, means a College Football Playoff spoiler to the second tier. McElroy didn't include any team in the conference's first tier.
Three of the Mountaineers' opponents, Kansas, Oklahoma State, and K-State, were in McElroy's second tier. Arizona and UCF were also included in Tier 3. Colorado, Texas Tech, TCU, and Iowa State were Tier 4, and BYU, Houston, Arizona State, Baylor, and Cincinnati all occupied the bottom tier.
“(The Mountaineers) are a spoiler, massive rollercoaster last year," McElroy said (h/t On SI). "Nine wins, amazing. Bowl wins, incredible. Great wins over the newcomers to the Big 12, but also losing to former head coach Dana Holgorsen on a Hail Mary. Losing to Oklahoma State and allowing nearly 300 yards rushing, so there were some ups and downs but for all intents and purposes it was a really good year for Neal Brown, partly because he found a three-headed monster offensively. You look at them defensively, they lost a bunch of guys, a handful went pro, a handful transferred out to become starters at other places. They went and added guys from the FCS. They added guys from G5. But either way, it’s not ideal with the amount of turnover that they had defensively. The schedule is also challenging, one of the toughest in the Big 12. I love the team, but the schedule is too tough which is why I put them in this spoiler category right now.”
Big 12 lacking top teams but in the hunt for some from ACC
There are no obvious Big 12 powerhouses with Texas and Oklahoma gone. With that said, there is solid depth, and the conference is reportedly trying to raise the money necessary to entice FSU and Clemson to join.
Louisville, VA Tech, Miami, and NC State or GA Tech are all on the Big 12's radar too.
The beauty of the Big 12 is that just about any school could come out of nowhere and win the conference. You won't see that parity in the B1G with Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State unlikely to be moved too far from the top and Georgia, Texas, Alabama, and Ole Miss occupying the same roles in the SEC. Clemson and FSU are the only two real contenders in the ACC.