Ten wins in 11 games, and in the 10th, there were 650 yards of offense. That’s the seventh-best total in school history. His quarterback, who has grown and who has been developed into a pretty reliable part of this attack, passed Major Harris and is now fifth in school history with 42 touchdown passes. The offense topped 300 yards rushing and passing and averaged more than 7 yards per rush and 15 yards per completion. Four players ran for at least 42 yards while four had at least 47 yards receiving.

Eleven possessions. One punt. Six touchdowns. Three field-goal attempts. One end-of-half drive.

Pretty good work, and we haven’t even mentioned the array of formations and tactics employed.

“We showed what we can do,” Howard said. “It’s nothing we don’t know, but we’re establishing the confidence that we can do it.”

Hard to argue that, and now we leave it to pollsters and pundits to debate the merits of the Mountaineers.

Missouri might stink. Youngstown State is a winner at its level. BYU is all right, but its schedule is getting a lot of recognition for the names on it and not the records of the teams on it. Kansas State is what we thought it was. Texas Tech has a very bad defense and a one-dimensional offense — you should have heard Tony Gibson eschew the Red Raiders’ running game — and though I thought WVU could lose, I’m not surprised that WVU won, is better and has superior coaching.

But it’s time to start talking and thinking about the future, if only because, if we’re being honest, the first five games were navigable for a team that is going to win nine or 10 games. I’m not saying WVU will or that it was supposed to, but if this team is going that way, then 5-0 is pretty much part of the plan.

To be honest, I hadn’t really considered this, but I thought Mr. Hall made a good point.

Honestly, wouldn't a 5-0 start be anticipated if 9-3 or even 8-4 was preseason prediction? What has changed? #WVU https://t.co/XcrKXVEIMu

— Josh Hall (@jh901) October 16, 2016

Still, people — this is not me! — are taking notice.

At the moment, that championship or title the Mountaineers are worthy of is the Big 12’s, but why isn’t undefeated West Virginia being discussed as a national championship contender?

There’s no doubt that the Big 12 has a lot to do with it.

The conference is a mess — it’s a league that seems totally unworthy of a spot in the College Football Playoff, as to most, it’s counting on Baylor to win out — but there’s hope for the Big 12 in the Mountaineers.

The cart and the horse are in the driveway. I ranked the opponents again last night, and TCU, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Baylor are all above anybody WVU has played. The fairest and most accurate thing to say is that the Mountaineers have done just about all they could do with this 5-0 start.

Just about.

They could have boat raced a few teams or avoided some drama, but they’re getting better and people are getting a better idea about them. The offense is potent. I sort of expected the defense to improve, but perhaps not this fast. In back-to-back games and against completely different offenses, Tony Gibson has won the day.

Dana Holgorsen’s going to find his way to the end zone. Maybe the red zone and then occasionally, and more often than not, into the end zone. But his offenses will perform. I think there were questions about the defense this year, and I think there are always questions about the 3-3-5 and/or about Gibson.

Sooner or later, those questions are going to subside. WVU did a number on Texas Tech, which had the best offense in the country. TCU, Oklahoma State, Texas, Oklahoma and Baylor woke up Saturday in the top 20 in points per game. Maybe that’s not too daunting knowing what you now know.

“I’m sure there are probably still fans who don’t believe in what we do and how we do it, but the way football has changed now and the way the game is being played, nobody can convince me that there’s anything better,” Gibson said. “I believe in it, the kids believe in it, and they’re the ones who prepare and come out and play.”