West Virginia · Big 12West Virginia hosts Arizona in Rodriguez reunion
The 3-2 Mountaineers have allowed 86 points in losses to Oklahoma State and Iowa State before hosting Rodriguez’s former team Saturday.
OCT 9, 2026
West Virginia hosts Arizona Saturday, Oct. 10, when it faces the program Rich Rodriguez coached from 2012 through 2017. The game starts at noon ET.
The Mountaineers are 3-2 after losing to Oklahoma State on Sept. 26 and Iowa State on Saturday, Oct. 3. They allowed 86 points in those defeats. Arizona is 4-1 and has won three straight since its Sept. 12 loss at BYU.
West Virginia needs to stop the slide before a third loss turns a 3-2 start into a broader collapse in the Big 12 race. The matchup tests whether the Mountaineers can recover against a winning team after opening the season 3-0.
Rodriguez went 43-35 during his six seasons with Arizona and led the Wildcats to 10 wins in 2014. West Virginia went 4-8 overall and 2-7 in Big 12 play in 2025, adding weight to the need for a response before the conference race moves deeper into October.
01 · The Detail Beneath the HeadlineWhat Most People Are Missing
West Virginia’s problem is narrower than the two-game skid suggests and harder to hide: its offense produced 42 points at Iowa State, matching Arizona’s season high, and the Mountaineers still lost. The 41-24 defeat to Oklahoma State showed the other failure mode, leaving no single rebound formula for Oct. 10.
The schedule makes Arizona a useful measuring stick beyond Rodriguez’s history. The Wildcats beat Cincinnati 34-7 on Oct. 3, and Cincinnati visits Morgantown on Oct. 17. West Virginia then goes to TCU on Oct. 24. Those consecutive home games offer a direct comparison against a common opponent before the Mountaineers return to the road, while Arizona’s three-game winning streak has included 110 points.
02 · The Open QuestionsQuestions to Be Answered
Can West Virginia’s defense finally give its offense enough against Arizona?
Arizona has scored at least 34 points in each game of its three-game winning streak. West Virginia has shown it can score at that pace, but its 42 points at Iowa State were not enough. Arizona’s Oct. 10 point total, more than the reunion angle, will show whether the Mountaineers corrected the failure that turned a productive offensive day into a loss.
Can West Virginia match its entire 2025 win total before Cincinnati arrives?
A victory on Oct. 10 would move the Mountaineers to 4-2, matching the four wins they managed across all of 2025. A loss would leave Cincinnati on Oct. 17 as the next chance to reach that mark before the trip to TCU on Oct. 24. The result against 4-1 Arizona will show whether the 3-0 opening represented durable improvement or only a faster start.