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First of all, West Virginia�����Ƶ�s two open dates this season fall on Oct. 11, at the midway point in the campaign after six games, which is a little later than a coach would like, and then on the next-to-last weekend of the regular season (Nov. 22), which is much later than is ideal. �����ƵU follows that second open date by hosting Texas Tech in the regular-season finale the next weekend on Nov. 29.

Then the major issue is that the Big 12 did West Virginia no favors, with inequitable open dates.

Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State, each of which plays a Week Zero game, all have three open dates, as their regular seasons stretch out a week longer than everyone else�����Ƶ�s. �����ƵU and the other dozen programs in the Big 12 have two open dates on this year�����Ƶ�s slate.

And unfortunately for the Mountaineers, they are coming out on the short end when it comes to those rest periods.

West Virginia�����Ƶ�s Oct. 11 open date is followed by a trip to UCF, and the Knights will be at a rest disadvantage in that game, as they are at Cincinnati when the Mountaineers are off. �����ƵU�����Ƶ�s Nov. 22 open date prior to its regular-season finale on Nov. 29 against Texas Tech in Morgantown is balanced out, as the Red Raiders also have a Nov. 22 open date.

So, the Mountaineers�����Ƶ� two open dates don�����Ƶ�t come with any problems for Rich Rodriguez�����Ƶ�s squad, and in fact give �����ƵU an advantage prior to its trip to UCF. But there are two other instances when West Virginia�����Ƶ�s opponent has an open date prior to playing �����ƵU, while the Mountaineers have a game that week.

Before West Virginia�����Ƶ�s Sept. 20 trip to Kansas, the Jayhawks are off on Sept. 13 while �����ƵU will have an emotional affair when it hosts Pitt in the Backyard Brawl.

Then on Nov. 15, the Mountaineers make another lengthy trip, this time to Arizona State, to face a Sun Devils club that figures to be rested, having been open on Nov. 8, a day when West Virginia is entertaining Colorado.

Thus, �����ƵU is at a disadvantage twice when it comes to inequitable open dates, has an advantage once and has one push.

The inequitable open dates aren�����Ƶ�t the only problems with the Mountaineers�����Ƶ� Big 12 schedule. �����ƵU plays three of its first five games at home when the weather is typically good in Morgantown, though it can trend a little warm in August and early September. But during the prime weather of October, West Virginia has a three-week stretch when it does not have a game at Mountaineer Field, as it is at BYU on Oct. 3, is open on Oct. 11 and travels to UCF on Oct. 18.

�����ƵU�����Ƶ�s only home game in a nearly six-week span from Sept. 28-Nov. 7 comes on Oct. 25 when it hosts TCU. So for the most part, the good football weather opportunities in October are minimal for West Virginia fans for home contests at Mountaineer Field.

Also, the home finale for �����ƵU on Nov. 29 against Texas Tech comes at the end of the school�����Ƶ�s Thanksgiving break, when many students are still out of town, and getting strong attendance that week is typically a challenge.

Also, plan on staying up late if you want to watch the live broadcast of the Mountaineers�����Ƶ� game at BYU on Friday, Oct. 3.

Times and television details for any of the games this season have not yet been announced, but a non-Saturday game in Provo, Utah, is almost certainly going to come with a late start.