One of these things is not like the other. One of these things does not belong.

Or at least that's what the 247Sports Team Talent Composite would have you believe about West Virginia. 247Sports went through every roster in the Football Bowl Subdivision and compiled the recruiting rankings of every scholarship player on the team, adding up those ratings to give each team a ranking on pure talent - whether guys were signed out of high school or JUCO, or they came in as four-year transfers or grad transfers. Their rankings counted.

The results were about what one would expect. Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Auburn are ranked in the top eight in the Associated Press Top 25 (in that order), and they all rank in the top fourteen in the 247Sports Team Talent Composite.

Then there's No. 9. West Virginia. The No. 36 team as far as talent goes.

They're the only team in the Top Ten of the AP poll that is ranked out of the Top 20 in talent (Washington, the No. 10 team in the country, came in at No. 20 in talent). They're the second-lowest Power Five team in the Top 20 of the AP poll, one spot ahead of Wisconsin in "talent." The Mountaineers' differential - +27 - is the third best among teams in the AP Top 25, just behind UCF (+44, 56 to 12) and Colorado (+28, 49-21).

I'd argue that West Virginia's "leap" is more impressive than those two teams, though. The Buffaloes jumped from an "okay" team to just barely inside the Top 25. UCF made a huge jump, but they're beating up on bad opponents and teams with less talent than they even have. The Mountaineers? They've gone from "blah" talent to a Top Ten team. They're fifth in their own conference as far as talent goes, but they're competing for a league title.

So, how is West Virginia doing it? Two main reasons: The Mountaineers are spotting talent that other schools aren't seeing. Colton McKivitz had no Power Five offers and is now one of the best linemen in the Big 12 Conference. The Mountaineers are coaching guys up that others had cast aside. Josh Norwood (Ohio State) and Keith Washington (Michigan) were buried on the depth chart and transferred. Under the WVU coaches' tutelage, they're impressing as lockdown corners against elite receivers.

Will that continue? It looks like it. Two early commits for West Virginia - safety Osita Smith and linebacker Lee Kpogba - had very few offers and low three-star ratings when the Mountaineers made them priorities. Now they have scholarships-a-plenty, and rankings more in line with their talents. Others with much lower rankings - like linebacker Jared Bartlett - are very high on the coaches' boards and are expected to make a difference in Morgantown.

For a full look at the 247Sports Team Talent Composite, CLICK HERE.