Tale of the Tape 2.0 has finally reached the Senior Day milestone, as WVU Football welcomes Houston to Morgantown for the final home game of the 2026 season. The November 21 matchup pits the Mountaineers and Cougars against each other for just the third time ever. Read more: Tale of the Tape 2.0 – Houston.
The series is split, 1-1.
Previous entry: Tale of the Tape 2.0 – Kansas
Houston has played host in the two contests thus far, so the Cougars are set to make the maiden voyage to Milan Puskar Stadium. Depending on the stakes at that point in the season, UH could be walking into quite the environment.
An unexpected triumph
It is no secret WVU underperformed in 2025, even with average expectations. That 4-8 record has been burned into this offseason’s narrative.
So when WVU, complete with subpar personnel and a perceived lack of motivation, rolled into the Lone Star State on November 1 of this past year, there was not much to look forward to. After all, the Mountaineers were walking into a road game against the No. 22 team in the country at the time.
To say WVU’s 45-35 victory came as a shock to some would be an understatement. In addition to the upset itself, the win marked the Mountaineers’ first ranked road win since 2018.
Related: What has happened at WVU since the last time football cracked the AP Top 25?
It proved to be a solid morale booster for a team that desperately needed it.
Inaugural matchup
The Mountaineer faithful may need to skip past this blurb.
WVU trailed by 11 points with less than four minutes to go on that fateful night in 2023. Then, Garrett Greene found the endzone to bring the game within three.
Greene did the unthinkable by launching a 50-yard strike to Hudson Clement with 12 seconds left, and suddenly the Mountaineers were up 39-35 in the waning seconds.
Look away, now.
Houston picked up eight yards on the first play of a would-be miracle drive. Then, it actually happened. Cougar quarterback Donovan Smith chucked a Hail Mary to the end zone, sending WVU home with a loss in the wildest of fashion.
What to expect this time
To predict where rosters will be in late November is nothing short of guesswork.
In the meantime, Houston is led by third-year head coach Willie Fritz. The coaching journeyman has found UH to be home since 2024. After going 4-8 in his first year with the Cougars, Fritz led his team to an impressive 10-3 record this past season.
The Kansas native will have to lead his team into the Mountain State for the first time since the Cougars shared a conference with Marshall University in the 2000s.
A kickoff time and coverage information have not been announced, as per usual at this point.
As always, clear out the two hours leading up to kickoff each game day and join WV Sports Nation for The Mountaineer Tailgate pregame show, hosted by Senior Writer Mitch Rogers.
Related: Introducing The Mountaineer Tailgate pregame show, coming soon to JFMN
Tale 2.0Â wraps up Sunday as we take a brief look at the final game of the regular season, when WVU travels to Salt Lake City to face Utah.
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