West Virginia’s not playing for anything this Saturday. There’s no Big 12 Championship appearance at stake. That ended after WVU’s five-game losing streak against conference opponents in September and October. Then, just a couple of games later, WVU’s bowl game hopes were still alive, and that ended with a loss to Arizona State, losing its seventh game of the season.

There are a lot of Big 12 teams that are playing for something this weekend. The Mountaineers’ opponent, Texas Tech, is one of them. The Red Raiders have a lot on the line this weekend when they head to Morgantown.

Texas Tech needs to beat WVU to clinch a spot in the Big 12 title game. If WVU were to beat Texas Tech, pulling off a crazy upset, then the Red Raiders need some help. If BYU beats UCF and Arizona State beats Arizona, then Texas Tech would be knocked out of the Big 12 title game since the Red Raiders would lose the tiebreaker with the Sun Devils because they lost to them earlier in the year.

“There is an opportunity, I don’t want to say spoiler,” Rich Rodriguez said. “But first off, I say, listen, it’s our last home game. It’s our seniors’ last game. We should have that in mind to play really hard for them. That’s been a theme for it, but also it’s a great opportunity for our program to be on display on national TV against one of the best teams in the country. If you don’t get excited for the challenge, then you’re not who I thought you were. I think our guys, the way that they’ve approached this so far, have been good.”

WVU could really play spoiler. If the Mountaineers can beat Texas Tech, and if Arizona State loses, the Red Raiders would still be in the Big 12 title game. However, with a loss, the Red Raiders’ College Football Playoff ranking would certainly take a hit. Right now, Texas Tech is ranked No. 5 in the country. If Texas Tech beats WVU and then wins the Big 12 title, there’s a high chance it will secure one of the top seeds, which gives a bye in the 12-team playoff.

WVU could put a kink in Texas Tech’s postseason hopes.

“Every ranked opponent that we’ve played against so far, we are trying to damage them a little bit, and see what we can do,” tight end Grayson Barnes said. “Maybe hurt their season a little bit. Just try and have an effect on the season. Still show the conference and everybody that we’re just as good as everybody else.”

This is the final game for most of the WVU roster. 40 seniors are being recognized for Senior Day, and this could be their final game. Imagine being the team that creates chaos throughout the Big 12 and college football on Saturday.

The seniors are keeping that in mind this week.

“It is on my mind because this is the last go-around,” linebacker Reid Carrico said. “I don’t really know if I keep doing this or not. Might as well empty the tank on Saturday.”

There’s a lot of “ifs” that go around this weekend, with conference championship berths and College Football Playoff implications at stake. One of the biggest games could be happening in Morgantown. WVU is a three-touchdown underdog, so a shot at chaos looks slim, but the Mountaineers are going to give it their all because this is all they have left.

“I don’t hold any bullets back,” defensive coordinator Zac Alley said. “We’ll see what we can get.”