On Wednesday, the West Virginia Mountaineers learned their full schedule on the gridiron for the 2026 season. We've already taken the time to break down each game on the upcoming slate. Now, let's take a look at some in-depth observations on how the schedule might be a boon to WVU's success.
West Virginia Has Excellent Opportunity In First Half of Their Schedule
The Mountaineers are likely salivating at the opening portion of their schedule.
West Virginia will open the season with a Group of 6 opponent (Coastal Carolina) and an FCS opponent (UT-Martin) – much like last year, but with the order of the games reversed. But this season, there is also no pesky away game against a Group of 6 opponent, and Coastal is also ushering in a first-year coach.
From there, the Mountaineers have a neutral-site game against Virginia, who is coming off an 11-win season and ACC Championship appearance. But the game is in Charlotte, which is a close trip which WVU fans usually turn out in spades for, and Virginia starting quarterback Chandler Morris will not return.
Then, they return home against an Oklahoma State team that finished last in the Big 12 at 1-11 overall, and bring in a first-year head coach of their own and coming off two consecutive losing seasons.
Their first true road game isn't until October, and that comes against an Iowa State team that lost their head coach as well, and returns less than 20 players – with former starting quarterback Rocco Becht one of several players following former coach Matt Campbell to Penn State.
After this WVU follows up with Arizona, who did finish last season near the top of the Big 12 at 9-4, but they welcome the Wildcats to Morgantown rather than facing a trek west. That starts another homestand for the program, as they turn around to host Cincinnati the next week. The Bearcats finished just 7-6 last year and lose their starting quarterback in Brendan Sorsby.
The end of the schedule is nowhere near as favorable, with four games against teams that finished in the Top 25 of the AP Poll this past season in their final five outings. Four of those are on the road.
But the Mountaineers have a prime opportunity in their first seven games to start 5-2 at the worst, and potentially undefeated. And that can build much-needed momentum for the Mountaineers entering those tough match-ups at the end of the year, and set them up for a potential postseason bid before the biggest challenges of the season await.
Country Roads Will Keep The Mountaineers Home
The Mountaineers have just four true road games this year, with one neutral-site game within easy travelling distance for much of the fan base and seven true home games at Milan Puskar Stadium.
That stretch also includes three home stands for the Mountaineers, including two in conference play. There are two consecutive home games to open the season against Coastal and UT-Martin, back-to-back home games in October against Arizona and Cincinnati, and two more in a row in November against Kansas and Houston.
Four of those are very winnable, and none are games you chalk up is definitive losses this early. They also only face back-to-back road games at one point in the season, which is split up by their bye week – meaning they're never really on the road in consecutive weeks of the season. That's a lot of time at home, which cannot be overstated in a conference with travel like the Big 12.
Trend of Coaching, Roster Instability Could Prove A Massive Benefit
While it's certain the Mountaineers are going to see plenty of turnover entering the coming season, they do have some experienced starters coming back – including their quarterback and two offensive linemen – and their head coach enters their second season with the program. That's an anomaly among teams on their schedule.
The Mountaineers will face 10 opponents from Power 4 conferences this season, and seven of those teams will lose their starting quarterback to either graduation or the transfer portal. One-third of the 12 total games on the schedule also come against opponents with new head coaches taking over the program.
WVU fans are well aware of the vulnerability of coaching and quarterback turnover, which they saw hurt the team dramatically last season. Now, they have an edge on many of their upcoming opponents in those categories. Hopefully, they can take advantage of it.