West Virginia finally had a lead when it mattered most.
After spending the afternoon chasing Cincinnati on the scoreboard, the Mountaineers closed out a wild 45-42 win at Mountaineer Field on Saturday, landing their first Big 12 victory of the 2026 season. The Bearcats and Mountaineers combined for 1,220 yards of total offense in a game that stayed tight from start to finish, but West Virginia never moved in front until the final second.
Cincinnati struck first after receiving the opening kickoff, putting together a 13-play, 75-yard march that ended with a four-yard touchdown pass from fifth-year senior quarterback JC French to fourth-year receiver JV Gibson. That made it 7-0 with 8:53 left in the first quarter.
West Virginia’s defense bent early but kept the damage down after senior receiver Malachi Henry ripped off a 69-yard gain on a crossing route. The Bearcats pushed inside the red zone and tried to extend the drive on 4th-and-1, but senior defensive back Geimere Latimer II delivered the stop to keep it a one-score game.
The Mountaineers answered after a pair of punts, piecing together a 10-play, 81-yard drive that ended with junior quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. vaulting over a Cincinnati defender and into the end zone from 12 yards out. That tied the game at 7-7.
The back-and-forth pace only picked up from there. Cincinnati reclaimed the lead when junior wide receiver Isaiah Johnson turned a short pass into a 51-yard touchdown, one of multiple explosive plays the Bearcats hit in the first half.
West Virginia responded with its own burst on fourth down, as Hawkins Jr. rolled left and delivered a 43-yard strike to fifth-year senior DJ Epps. Two plays later, Hawkins Jr. scored again on the ground to make it 14-14.
The Bearcats wasted no time retaking control. Junior running back Cole Tabb finished a four-play drive with a 28-yard touchdown run, and Cincinnati later carried a 21-14 lead into halftime after West Virginia came up empty on a 49-yard field goal attempt by Jack Cassidy.
The Mountaineers came out of the break with a quick answer. On the opening drive of the third quarter, Hawkins Jr. found fifth-year tight end Josh Sapp for a four-yard touchdown to pull the game even at 21-21.
Cincinnati again had the response ready. French led a 13-play, 78-yard drive that ended with a one-yard rushing score, putting the Bearcats back on top. But West Virginia kept punching.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Epps delivered the game’s flashiest moment yet. He caught a pass over the middle, slipped past defenders with a spin move and raced to the end zone for a touchdown that tied the game at 28-28.
The Bearcats answered once more, helped by a personal foul for unnecessary roughness after a late hit out of bounds. Tabb capped that drive with another 11-yard touchdown run to put Cincinnati back ahead 35-28.
West Virginia had more fight left. After Cincinnati drew consecutive offside penalties, Hawkins Jr. scrambled out of trouble, reversed field and found Epps for a 32-yard gain. Freshman running back Amari Latimer finished the drive from three yards out to level the score again at 35-35.
Cincinnati quickly regained the edge when French hit Henry for a 59-yard gain, and Tabb soon broke loose again to make it 42-35 with 5:35 remaining. But the Mountaineers were not done.
Cam Cook turned a halfback screen into a 40-yard touchdown to knot things back up at 42-42 with 3:44 left, setting up a frantic finish. West Virginia’s defense got the stop it needed and forced a punt, then watched a 66-yard kick nearly get blocked before the ball pinned the Mountaineers at their own one-yard line with more than two minutes left.
Hawkins Jr. then flipped the field. He found junior wideout Prince Strachan for 41 yards out of the shadow of the goal line, and Strachan struck again two plays later with a 40-yard catch to move West Virginia deep into Cincinnati territory. From there, Cassidy ended it with a 35-yard field goal as time expired.
The kick gave West Virginia a 45-42 win, its first Big 12 victory of the season, and capped one of the wildest games Mountaineer Field has seen.
In Other News...
WVU May Have Finally Found The Right QB For Rich Rod
Mike Hawkins Jr. has quickly become one of the most intriguing pieces of West Virginias offense, and not just because of what he does with his arm. The starting quarterback has given the Mountaineers a dynamic run threat from the position, leading the nation in rushing yards by a quarterback while also tying for the most rushing touchdowns in college football.
The passing numbers have not been as clean, but that has come with the territory in an offense that asks him to push the ball downfield. Hawkins throws a high percentage of deep passes, which naturally drags down the completion rate, yet the fit has drawn praise from Phil Steele and plenty of confidence inside the building, where his coaches view him as one of the Big 12s top quarterbacks. [Read more 🡒]
WVUs Loaded Ground Game Could Get An Intriguing New Option Today
West Virginia has already built a rushing identity behind Cam Cook and quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr., with freshman Amari Latimer giving the Mountaineers another layer in the backfield. Even with that production in place, the staff has kept working through options, and Utah transfer running back NaQuari Rogers has been around the program for a while now, practicing with the team and even dressing for recent games.
Rogers still has not taken the field, but his presence is another reminder of how much depth this ground game could still have if he gets folded into the rotation. For a West Virginia offense that has leaned on the run and found success with multiple pieces, the question now is less about whether Rogers can help at some point and more about when that chance finally comes, and how big a role he might be able to carve out. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Already Has A Ross Hodge Debate Before The Season
Before Ross Hodge has even gotten through a second season at West Virginia, the Big 12 has already offered an early read on where the Mountaineers stand. The league's preseason coaches poll slotted West Virginia tied with Cincinnati for eighth, a modest starting point for a program trying to climb after bringing in plenty of new faces and asking a lot of Hodge in year two.
The projection is not exactly discouraging, but it does underline the gap between expectation and certainty in Morgantown. West Virginia is supposed to get better as the pieces settle in, yet the timetable for that growth remains a central question, and the first exhibition against Maryland will be the first real chance to see how close the Mountaineers are to looking like a team ready to move up. [Read more 🡒]