West Virginia readies for four new conference opponents

West Virginia is set to play all four of the new Big 12 opponents this season. So, what’s the on-field history with BYU, Cincinnati, Central Florida and Houston?

Houston:

West Virginia will knock off a first this season when the program travels to take on Houston Oct. 12 for a Thursday night contest. The two teams have never squared off on the football field but there will be some added intrigue for this one considering the circumstances.

That’s because former head coach Dana Holgorsen now is atop the Cougars football program which pits the past two West Virginia coaches against each other.

Central Florida:

West Virginia played a home-and-home series with the Knights in 2003 and 2004. The Mountaineers won both of those games 36-18 in Morgantown and followed by a 45-20 win in Orlando. West Virginia will head back on the road against the Knights this season with the matchup set for Oct. 28.

BYU:

The Mountaineers have only squared off against the Cougars once on the football field and it was relatively recently during the 2016 season. The game was played at Fed-Ex Field with West Virginia winning 35-32. This season the Cougars will make their first trip to Morgantown Nov. 4.

Cincinnati:

There is no question that the Mountaineers and Bearcats share the most history first as out-of-conference opponents and then as league-mates in the now defunct Big East Conference. The two teams have squared off 20 times, with West Virginia holding a 16-3-1 edge.

As members of the Big East, the Mountaineers held a 5-2 edge in the series and won the final two matchups in Morgantown in 2010 (37-10) and then at Cincinnati (24-21) in 2011. The Bearcats three wins in the series are by a combined eight points but two of those came in Morgantown.

This season the game will be played in Morgantown Nov. 18.

Overall:

Historically, West Virginia has had success against the new additions although limited in nature with a combined 19-3-1 record against three teams and having never met Houston. The one thing that these new matchups did create is more prep work for the analysts on staff considering how unfamiliar these teams are with the more recent of the four coming in 2016. That’s before the current coaching staff was even in Morgantown meaning that it’s going to be a lot of newness on the slate.

It's important to also note that with Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah joining the Big 12 in time for the 2024-25 season the Mountaineers will add four new opponents although there is no clear indication what the schedule or divisions will be.

Against Colorado, the Mountaineers are 1-1 with the two teams splitting a home-and-home series during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Utah holds a 2-0 edge over West Virginia with winning a pair of bowl games in the 1964 Liberty Bowl and the 2017 Heart of Dallas Bowl.

West Virginia also has met Arizona State in a bowl game winning the 2016 Cactus Bowl 43-42, while the program also dropped a decision against the Sun Devils in Tempe during the 1979 season.

Finally, the Mountaineers and Arizona have yet to meet on the field giving the football program a new matchup to look forward to.

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