West Virginia University Football Power Rankings Week 7

1. Josh Lambert

With two game winners this season, and three in the past two seasons, Lambert has earned his way into Mountaineer lore. You know what I liked almost as much as his 55-yard game winner? The fact that he, and several other Mountaineers, went over to the stands and let all the Red Raider fans know about it. ESPN's Brandon Chatmon had this this to say about Lambert, "I'm not sure I consider him a kicker anymore, he's reached superhero status at this point, right?"

previous ranking #4

2. Nick Kwiatkoski

Mr. Kwiatkoski is WVU's best defensive player right now. During three plus quarters when WVU needed to not let the game get out of hand Kwiatkoski was making plays to keep the Mountaineers in a position to make the run that they eventually did. Per cfbstats.com Kwiatkoski finished with 11 total tackles, 9 of which were solo, 2 of which were for loss, including big tackles in the red zone and on a fourth down attempt by the Red Raiders.

previous ranking #7

3. Jordan Thompson

Redemption! The only story line following Squirt the past couple weeks has been his shortcomings in the role of punt returner. As has been reported widely, Thompson was benched both from punt return duties and from his inside receiver position. How did he respond? Only with his best game ever. Thompson finished with 6 catches for 109 yards including a monster 56-yard touchdown reception and several key catches down the stretch.

previous ranking unranked

4. Kevin White

Texas Tech was committed to stopping White, but despite their best efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. White scored on a 26-yard pass from Trickett and finished with 13 catches for 123 yards. White continues to lead the FBS in receiving yards with 888, and broke the Mountaineer record for consecutive 100-yard games with six.

previous ranking #1

5. Wendell Smallwood

Prior to this game Smallwood had been doing most of his damage as a receiver, but Smallwood finished Saturday with 123 yards on 15 carries for a whopping 8.2 yards per carry average. WVU leaned on Smallwood late in the game and he delivered.

previous ranking #9

6. Rushel Shell

Shell was the workhouse for the Mountaineers ending with 24 carries for 110 yards and a pair of touchdowns including a gigantic fourth and goal conversion. Shell now has 490 yards rushing and six touchdowns on the year.

previous ranking #6

7. Clint Trickett

Trickett was off on several throws throughout the day, but like the rest of the Mountaineers he made the plays when they mattered. Trickett finished with over 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Per ESPN Big 12 writer Jake Trotter, Trickett leads the Big 12 in QBR and completion percentage and is third nationally in passing.

previous ranking #3

8. Nick O'Toole

Averaged 43 yards a kick on 4 punts.

previous ranking #8

9. WVU Defense

Despite giving up a couple long scores the 3-3-5 for the most part lived up to its bend but don't break billing. The Red Raiders had several opportunities to push this one beyond the reach of a comeback, but the defense managed to keep them at bay. On the final drive when Defensive Coordinator Tony Gibson decided to ratchet up the heat on Davis Webb the defense came through with enough pressure to get the Red Raiders off the field.

previous ranking unranked

10. WVU Offense

A pair of 100-yard rushers and receivers, and as abpriddy pointed out in the Retweet, the offense scored 17 points in less than 8 minutes on the road with a hostile crowd.

previous ranking unranked