Two WVU football alums in action in NFL Conference Championship games

West Virginia offensive lineman Colton McKivitz walks onto the field, pregame, during the Mantrip. (Photo Gold And Blue Nation)

If your favorite NFL team is no longer in the playoffs, there are still a pair of Mountaineers to root for this Sunday

by: Ryan Decker

Posted: Jan 30, 2022 / 02:09 PM EST

Updated: Jan 30, 2022 / 02:09 PM EST

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A pair of former WVU football players are playing Sunday with the opportunity of heading to Super Bowl LVI.

Sunday’s AFC and NFC Championship games will each feature a Mountaineer alum.

In the AFC title game, Quinton Spain and the fourth-seeded Bengals look to play for the Lombardi Trophy for the first time since the 1988 season. Spain and Cincinnati will have to get past No. 2 seed Kansas City in order to do so.

Spain and the Bengals offensive line surrendered nine sacks in last week’s Divisional Round win over the Tennessee Titans. But Spain was on the field for the final play of the game — rookie Evan McPherson’s game-winning field goal.

Kickoff between Cincinnati and Kansas City is scheduled for 3 p.m., and the game will be televised on CBS.

Following that game, fellow offensive lineman and fellow former Mountaineer, Colton McKivitz, will also take his crack at winning a conference title.

McKivitz and his San Francisco 49ers also upset the top-seeded team in their conference last week. They now take on the rival Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Conference Championship game.

While McKivitz played just six snaps last week, he could take on a greater role against the Rams.

All-Pro offensive lineman Trent Williams is officially listed as questionable for the game, and even if he does play, will be far from 100 percent as he deals with an ankle injury.

Williams missed the 49ers’ regular season finale against the Rams. McKivitz got the start in his place, played 100 percent of the snaps, and San Francisco won to clinch a spot in the postseason.

McKivitz has appeared in just two games for San Francisco this season, but, like Spain, was part of the special teams unit that produced a game-winning field goal at Lambeau Field as time expired.

The 2017 Philadelphia Eagles were the last team to have a former West Virginia player on their Super Bowl roster. Three former Mountaineers — Najee Good, Rasul Douglas and Shelton Gibson — played in the Super Bowl LII victory for the Eagles.

The opportunity still remains for there to be a Mountaineer on both sidelines inside SoFi Stadium on February 13 for Super Bowl LVI.