West Virginia enters its matchup with Cincinnati staring at a rough stretch and a tough number from ESPN’s Football Power Index.
The FPI matchup predictor gives the Mountaineers a 40.6% chance to end their three-game losing skid and climb back above .500. Cincinnati sits at 59.4%, even though the Bearcats are not favored by the sportsbooks.
That comes as West Virginia tries to bounce back from losses to Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Arizona. The defense has taken the biggest hit during that slide, especially in those defeats.
Against Arizona, the Mountaineers were competitive for stretches, but they also helped their own cause go sideways by fumbling twice, and those turnovers turned into 14 points. Even so, the second-half collapse belonged to the defense, which allowed 28 points on 10 plays.
Cincinnati arrives with a week to sit on its own blowout loss to Arizona and get some rest. The Bearcats’ defense has issues too, while their offense has been solid without being as explosive as the kinds of attacks West Virginia faced against Oklahoma State and Arizona.
For WVU, the matchup appears to hinge on slowing Cincinnati’s rushing game. West Virginia has not been strong against the run in league play, but that still looks like a better fit than dealing with the kind of spread-heavy passing assault it faced last week. The Mountaineers have shown they can hold up against the run to a degree; the bigger concern has been pass defense.
With bowl eligibility in the background, this one carries obvious weight for West Virginia. A loss would leave the Mountaineers needing three wins over the final five games, with plenty of difficult opponents still ahead.
Given all that, the FPI number feels a little off balance. This looks more like a 50/50 game than the predictor suggests.
In Other News...
Rich Rodriguez Sends A Clear Message To WVU's Struggling Defense
Rich Rodriguez is already pressing for answers on a West Virginia defense that has left too much production on the field in recent conference games. After watching opponents pile up yardage and points, the Mountaineers coach made it clear the issues are not being treated as a short-term hiccup, but as something that has to be corrected with sharper coaching, cleaner fundamentals and a better fit in personnel.
Rodriguez said he and his staff have gone back over the film in detail and are preparing to make changes, especially in the defensive backfield. For a WVU team trying to steady itself in league play, the message was less about patience and more about urgency, with the staff looking for answers on the field before the season gets any harder to salvage. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Faces A Tough Mirror Matchup Against Cincinnati
Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield spent part of his week sizing up West Virginia, and the picture he painted was less about wrinkles and more about a familiar identity. He pointed to the Mountaineers as a team that wants to run the football first, with a quarterback who can move and a back in Cam Cook who adds another layer to the ground game. He also singled out the athleticism up front, saying the offensive line brings the kind of physical edge that makes the matchup harder to sort out once the game starts.
For West Virginia, it is the kind of scouting report that can sound like praise but also underscores the challenge ahead. When both sides want to lean on the run and make defenders account for the quarterback as part of the plan, every possession can turn into a test of leverage, discipline and tackling. Cincinnati clearly sees the Mountaineers as a mirror image in a few key ways, and that is what makes this one feel like the kind of game that may not be decided by finesse so much as who handles the trenches better. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Fans Can Now Lock In Seats Before Key Games Fill Up
West Virginia fans looking to plan ahead can now start circling dates, because single-game tickets for all WVU womens basketball home games are on sale to the general public, along with nonconference single-game tickets and Big 12 mini packs for the mens side. It gives the fan base an early shot at building its own schedule around the matchups that matter most, while also opening the door to more flexible options than the full-season commitment.
The mens Pick Your Own mini packages let buyers choose from specified opponents, with pricing beginning at $90 for a 3-game package and $125 for a 5-game package, while womens tickets start at $12 for general admission. There are also different pricing tiers and Coca-Cola Family Day ticket packages in the mix, a sign that WVU is trying to keep the entry point accessible as the most attractive home dates begin to fill up. [Read more 🡒]