West Virginia’s Oct. 10 home game against Arizona will kick off at noon ET and air on TNT, with TruTV and HBO Max carrying the simulcast, the Big 12 announced.
That matchup at Milan Puskar Stadium is the centerpiece of a packed stretch in Morgantown. The Mountaineers head to Ames, Iowa, first, where they’ll face Iowa State on Saturday, Oct. 3 at noon ET. That game will also be shown on TNT and simulcast on TruTV and HBO Max.
The Arizona game is WVU’s Coal Rush contest, and the school plans to spotlight the state’s coal mining industry and heritage throughout the day. Fans attending are encouraged to wear black.
The Big 12’s Fall Tour will also make a stop in Morgantown from Oct. 8-10.
David Lee Murphy will headline the Kickoff Concert at Almost Heaven Village, presented by Scouting America, on Saturday, Oct. 10.
The concert will take place on the North Lawn on the northeast side of Milan Puskar Stadium, with more details set to be released next week.
Admission to the concert is free, and fans may bring their own food and beverages. No public concession sales will be available during or before the event.
Before the football game, WVU will induct the 36th class into its Sports Hall of Fame at 9 a.m. in the Caperton Indoor Practice Facility. The 2026 class includes John Beilein, Kadeisha Buchanan, Dennis Fowlkes, Bria Holmes, Alex Kasich, Ashley Lawrence and Craig Turnbull. With those additions, the Hall of Fame will have 250 inductees.
In Other News...
West Virginia Faces A Bigger Defensive Concern Than One Bad Loss
West Virginias loss to Oklahoma State was not the kind you can pin on one bad quarter or one lopsided stat sheet. The Mountaineers actually had some encouraging numbers on defense and put up a strong rushing total, but the film still told a more troubling story. The new defensive scheme was supposed to help unsettle an opponent that likes to push the ball, yet Oklahoma State found too many ways to hit big plays and keep the pressure on.
What made the defeat sting was how often West Virginia let those chances slip through its hands. Missed tackles piled up, explosive plays came too easily, and the staff admitted the game plan simply did not work as intended. For a team trying to build momentum, the bigger concern is not just the result itself, but whether the defensive issues exposed in this one are tied to a deeper problem than a single rough afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Fans Get A Coal Rush Twist They Werent Expecting
West Virginias October 10 matchup with Arizona now has a start time and a national TV home, and it comes with an early kickoff that should give Mountaineer fans plenty of time to settle in. The Big 12 announced the game will kick at 12 p.m. ET in Morgantown and air on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max, adding another layer of visibility to a nonconference meeting that already carries some curiosity.
Arizona arrives with a little momentum after improving to 3-1 with a win over Washington State, while West Virginia will be trying to build on the familiarity of a series that has been played only once before. The Mountaineers won that 2021 meeting 31-26, and this years game lands in the middle of a busy stretch for the Wildcats, who will turn around and face Cincinnati in a late kickoff the following week. [Read more 🡒]
Rich Rod's Offense Is Giving West Virginia Fans A Real Concern
Rich Rodriguezs latest West Virginia offense is already drawing attention because it looks different from the ones fans remember from his earlier coaching stops. Through four games, the Mountaineers are throwing on just 22% of their offensive snaps, a notably lower rate than Rodriguez has typically used over the course of his career. For a coach long associated with pace and spread principles, that tilt toward the run has become one of the early-season talking points around the program.
The reasons are not hard to see, at least in broad terms. Pass protection has been an issue, and the receiver play has also factored into the equation, making it easier to understand why the offense has leaned so heavily on the ground game. Still, the bigger question hovering over West Virginia is whether a more balanced approach would make the attack harder to defend and more effective overall, even if the current numbers suggest Rodriguez is still searching for the right mix. [Read more 🡒]