West Virginia’s first road trip of the season now has a kickoff time, and it comes with an early start.
The Big 12 announced Monday afternoon that the Mountaineers’ game at Iowa State will begin at 12 p.m. ET next week. The matchup will air on TNT/TruTV/HBO Max.
For WVU, the scheduling break has been kind through the opening stretch. The Mountaineers opened with two home games against inferior competition, then got a home game away from home against Virginia, followed by a night matchup this weekend with an explosive Oklahoma State team. Now comes a noon kickoff in Ames.
Iowa State enters year one of a major rebuild after Matt Campbell’s departure to Penn State. That puts the Cyclones in a spot similar to the one Rich Rodriguez and his staff handled a year ago, when they had to replace almost the entire roster with a group built largely from lower-level transfers and players making the leap to Power Four football.
The Cyclones are expected to finish near the bottom of the Big 12 standings in Jimmy Rogers’ first season, but they’ve been solid so far. Iowa State handled Southeast Missouri State and Bowling Green, then stayed competitive with Iowa before falling 16-13.
That Iowa loss is still a useful clue, though the CyHawk Bowl usually muddies the waters. The rivalry tends to be tight and physical, so it’s fair to wonder whether Iowa State is genuinely better than expected or simply benefiting from the rivalry setting.
Their Big 12 opener against No. 15 Utah this weekend should tell us more.
The series itself has been evenly split, with each team winning six times. West Virginia won four straight after the first two meetings were split, but Iowa State has swung things back over the last stretch. The Cyclones have taken five of the last six, including the last two.
Recent results in the series: 2024: Iowa State 28, West Virginia 16
2022: Iowa State 31, West Virginia 14
2021: West Virginia 38, Iowa State 31
2020: Iowa State 42, West Virginia 6
2019: Iowa State 38, West Virginia 14
2018: Iowa State 30, West Virginia 14
2017: West Virginia 20, Iowa State 16
2016: West Virginia 49, Iowa State 19
2015: West Virginia 30, Iowa State 6
2014: West Virginia 37, Iowa State 24
2013: Iowa State 52, Iowa State 44 (OT)
2012: West Virginia 31, Iowa State 24
In Other News...
West Virginias 3-0 Start Just Raised The Stakes Against Oklahoma State
West Virginias perfect start kept rolling with a win over Virginia, and the payoff goes beyond another mark in the loss column. At 3-0, the Mountaineers have put themselves in a far better place for bowl eligibility, and the early-season momentum has already started to shift the conversation around where this team might wind up in December.
Various outlets have already started slotting West Virginia into different bowl projections, and the quality of those possible destinations has improved since the Virginia win. The next test against Oklahoma State now feels especially important, because another strong result would only sharpen the Mountaineers standing and make the rest of their season look a lot different than it did a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Snap Counts Reveal Early Trust Battles Fans Should Watch
West Virginias first game against a Power Four opponent offered an early look at how the coaching staff is sorting out its trust tree, and the snap counts made the picture a little clearer. On offense, the wide receiver rotation showed which players were leaned on most, while the interior line work suggested the staff is still testing how it wants to manage the front. On defense, the distribution among defensive backs also pointed to a group that is being handled with some care as the season gets into its tougher stretch.
For fans, the bigger takeaway is less about the numbers themselves and more about what they can signal next. Coaching staffs tend to settle into patterns quickly, especially after a matchup like this, and those early usage splits can tell you who is earning steady work and who may be headed for a bigger role as the lineup evolves. If the rotations shift in the coming weeks, this opener may end up looking like the first real clue to how West Virginia wants to build around its most trusted pieces. [Read more 🡒]
Geno Smith Just Reached A Mountaineers Milestone Fans Will Notice
Week 2 of the 2026 NFL season offered another reminder of how widely the Mountaineers pro pipeline has spread, with nine former West Virginia players appearing in games and four earning starts for their teams. Geno Smith headlined the group by reaching a notable career benchmark, making his 100th NFL start while turning in a solid afternoon through the air. Around him, the familiar names kept showing up too, with Dante Stills, Zach Frazier and Colton McKivitz all logging meaningful snaps.
For West Virginia fans, the bigger picture is as important as the milestone itself. The programs alumni continue to carve out roles on Sundays, while others around the league were either on reserve lists or inactive for the week. Smiths latest start fits neatly into that broader theme, but it also serves as another marker of just how long he has lasted and how steady his pro resume has become. [Read more 🡒]