WVU Football is set to celebrate Homecoming when the Cincinnati Bearcats come to town. The Mountaineers and Bearcats share a past as former Big East foes, and now share league once again in the Big 12. With history dating back more than a century as well, there are plenty of talking points regarding the Week 7 matchup. Read more: Tale of the Tape 2.0 – Cincinnati.
The October 17 contest marks the 23rd all-time meeting between the programs, and the 13th in Morgantown. WVU has dominated the series, with the online record books posting an 18-3-1 Mountaineer advantage.
Matchup history
It all started October 1, 1921. The Mountaineers steamrolled UC in a 50-0 shutout. Cincinnati was unable to score in the second meeting either, with WVU winning 34-0 a year later.
Wins in 1936 and 1939 followed, before Cincinnati got its first non-losing outcome of the bunch. A 7-7 tie in 1940 stopped the four-game skid for the Bearcats.
A 57-11 win in 1969 highlighted the return of the series after nearly three decades. It was the first time in the lopsided history where UC managed to score more than 10 points.
WVU pulled ahead with another six consecutive wins between 1980 and 2002. By the time they kickstarted the new millennium and the Big East, Cincinnati was still searching for its first triumph over their Achilles’ heel.
The Bearcats finally got over the hump in 2003, but WVU took the next three games. Cincy picked up back-to-back wins in 2008 and 2009, but the Mountaineers have won the past four.
WVU has prevailed in both Big 12 contests against UC, including the most recent game in 2024 (31-24). The last time the Bearcats came to town, the old gold and blue doubled up their opponent, 42-21, in 2023.
Despite the record, this is a fun regional rivalry. And it comes at a time when neither team has any geographically close teams in the conference. There is no Pitt, Penn State, Maryland, or Virginia Tech on the schedule, either. It is this game and Week 3 against Virginia, and that game is not even on a campus.
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The game also happens to fall in the heart of the 2026 season. This is when things get real, especially if either team is overperforming.
Two teams with a low national bar
It may be the closest series to a regional rivalry for the two squads sitting as relative outliers in the Big 12, but expectations for both this season are relatively low on the national level. At least, that is what the media reflects.
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The Big 12 Football Preseason Media Poll, which came out earlier this month, has both teams toward the basement of the conference. The poll has Cincinnati clocking in at No. 11, with WVU trailing behind at No. 13 in the 16-team league. Neither team comes into the year with wonderful rapport, given WVU’s 4-8 record and Cincinnati’s 7-6 finish.
Granted, it can be presumed the Bearcats’ low-trending placement partly stems from the loss of quarterback Brendan Sorsby. Before the scandals and allegations, there was a reason Texas Tech was throwing money at the gunslinger to get him to transfer.
There are several questions surrounding both WVU and UC heading into the campaign, but there will be more answers by the time Week 7 rolls around.
Final wrap
As you may have grown accustomed to by this point in the Tale 2.0 series, a kickoff time and TV broadcast information is still yet to be announced.
Regardless, the October 17 game day experience should make for a fun time at Milan Puskar Stadium and surrounding tailgates. An old foe will stroll in, arriving in tandem with old friends of the home team for Homecoming. It always makes for a special weekend in Morgantown.
Previous entry: Tale of the Tape 2.0 – Arizona
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