No way can WVU win in SEC as is. If the Big12 is a meat grinder what would they call the SEC.
SEC is a culture more than anything.
From the gameday attire to the show put on by the band.
Funny thing is in the Big XII West Virginia is getting better in all sports. I just saw that their women volleyball team scored an upset on KU. The women soccer team finished in the round of 16, same as Texas. Do not know about other sports but the men's basketball team looks Top 15 quality again.
The issue is that West Virginia is apart of Ohio and PA and not Va. Even the Tobacco South of Virginia and Carolina is not of SEC quality. A lot has to do with the fact that the Confederate capital moved from Montgomery to Richmond plus Alabama and UNC/UVA had their issues in the SoCon. Reason why the SEC schools left and West Virginia entered that conference in the 50's.
Texas feels the same as UNC/UVA but Texas will never join the ACC. The reason why Tex Schramm and George Preston Marshall butted heads in the old Redskins/Cowboys rivalry was the battle between Virginia and Texas.
The German immigrants who settled In the Texas Hill Country and Central Texas right before the Civil War are maybe a bigger part of UT than the Southern aristocrats who settled in East Texas. After the Civil War the money began to grow in the areas that saw Texas seperate from the South. A&M on the other hand always had their backing in East Texas.
Texas may have connections in the SEC but unless Bama bends over or Texas starts making less revenue West Virgina has a home in the Big XII.
It may be the best thing for West Virgina because of the amount of money in Texas that can be invested in the economy up there.