Instant Reactions to West Virginia’s First Big 12 Win of the Season

Initial thoughts from the Mountaineers' win over the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Oct 17, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (3) runs the ball for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Finally, the West Virginia Mountaineers are back in the win column, taking down the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday afternoon by a 45-42 score — their first victory since beating then-No. 25-ranked Virginia in Charlotte on September 19th. The win bumps WVU back above .500 on the year at 4-3.

Here are a few of my thoughts from this one.

Not sure what to say about the defense

Simplifying things did not work, to say the least. The Mountaineers played well in pockets in both halves, but those didn't last long whatsoever. Just a complete breakdown in the back end time after time, and hardly any pressure on JC French IV. I truly don't know how you fix it in-season. It's been that bad. A handful of times, it looked like they were in a good position, getting the Bearcats to 3rd and long, yet couldn't find a way to come up with a stop. They finally get one at the end of the game, and of course, it's a punt that gets downed at the 1-yard line. If this defense were just bad and not one of the worst units in college football, this team would be competing for a whole lot more than just fighting for bowl eligibility.

As expected, Hawkins can do damage throwing it

This was the first time WVU really opened it up in the passing game, and Mike Hawkins Jr. had himself a day slinging the ball around. Pitching it around early in the game and in possession allows your quarterback to get in rhythm and start feeling it. The RPO/quick game was missing for the first half of the season, but they put it to work today, and it worked beautifully. Hawkins was on target and bailed the offense out a number of times, escaping out of the pocket and throwing a dart downfield. He finished the day completing 25-of-33 passes for 464 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 77 yards and two scores on 26 carries. Several times he came through in the clutch, particularly on that final drive to win the game.

Huge bounce back day for DJ Epps

It's been a rough couple of games for DJ Epps, who had been so dynamite during non-conference play. He had his best game of the season for sure, reeling in eight passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. 67 of those yards came after the catch, just constantly making dudes look silly in the open field.