Column: Mitch Vingle takes a closer look at WVU’s bowl possibilities

As the college football season winds down, the bowl picture becomes clearer and clearer. It’s not full HD resolution crystal clear yet, mind you, but we’re getting there.

Yet let’s drill down a little deeper.

First, understand there’s this little matchup between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in a de facto Big 12 championship. (Unfortunately for the league, that doesn’t provide a 13th data point to the College Football Playoff committee. Of course, Ohio State apparently doesn’t need one, so…)

If, as expected, the Sooners win, the Fighting Bob Stoopses will probably miss the CFP, but land in the Sugar Bowl against an SEC team, probably Auburn. Now, if Oklahoma State wins and sneaks into the Sugar Bowl, don’t discount the Cotton Bowl (which must first take the highest Group of 5 team, i.e. Western Michigan) tabbing Oklahoma. Odds are, however, the Cotton will take Penn State, if the Nittany Lions lose to Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship, which — have I mentioned? — will not include Ohio State.

Anyway, the Big 12 pecking order after the “contract bowl” Sugar goes like this: Alamo, Russell Athletic, AdvoCare V100 Texas (Houston), AutoZone Liberty (Memphis), Cactus (Phoenix) and Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth).

The Big 12 will only fill the first six, unless waivers are granted for 5-7 teams. But WVU fans need only look at the top two after the Sugar, as their Mountaineers will finish third even if they lose to Baylor and Kansas State wins. (WVU won the head-to-head game and will offer the better overall record.)

Here’s where it gets tricky. If Oklahoma State defeats Oklahoma, and the Cotton passes on the Sooners, the Alamo Bowl will certainly take OU. That will put West Virginia in the Russell Athletic Bowl for sure.

But if, as expected, OU beats OSU, the Alamo has the option of taking a 9-3 Cowboys team or a probable 10-2 WVU team.

Does it not make sense that Oklahoma State goes to San Antonio and West Virginia goes to Orlando? Yes, WVU would take a small hit in the pecking order, but can anyone really differentiate between the Alamo and Russell Athletic bowls?

Also, both bowls would sell more tickets to the games. Fans in the Mountain State would certainly be able to attend a bowl in Orlando over one in San Antonio.

Just makes sense (and dollars and cents) for everyone involved.

I saw where Jerry Palm of CBS Sports had WVU in the Alamo taking on the Pac-12’s USC. That would stand to reason because, again, the Mountaineers are likely to finish 10-2, while Oklahoma State will finish 9-3. No one, however, wants to meet up with the Trojans these days.

Also, on Monday, I spoke to Mickey Boylan of the Russell Athletic Bowl, which offered another potential matchup: WVU versus Virginia Tech in Orlando. That would, of course, rekindle an old rivalry. Keep in mind, however, the two schools will meet Sept. 2 of next season at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, to start the season. So would back-to-back games be cool?

And finally…

The Big 12 has again started the men’s hoops season in fine fashion.

A glance at the Sagarin computer rankings has the league No. 1, followed by the ACC, Big East, Big Ten and Pac-12. (In team rankings, by the way, WVU was No. 9 at 4-1 before the Manhattan game.)

A closer look explains why. In holiday tournaments last week, the Big 12 went 19-7. It continued to lead the nation in fewest losses with nine. It had 48 wins before Monday’s action. And six of the losses were by single digits, including two in overtime.

This week? The league has many more opportunities to build its resume. On Wednesday, TCU hosts Washington. On Thursday, Cincinnati visits Iowa State. On Friday, Alabama is at Texas.

Then comes the mammoth day, Saturday. Oklahoma visits No. 17 Wisconsin; No. 25 WVU visits No. 6 Virginia; No. 7 Xavier is at No. 9 Baylor; Stanford is at No. 4 Kansas; and Oklahoma State is at Maryland.

More than just a few tests in there.