Post-Spring Bowl Projection for West Virginia is a Familiar Destination

Predicting where the Mountaineers will go bowling and against whom next season.

WVU Athletics Communications

It's a brand-new start (once again) for Rich Rod at West Virginia in 2026, considering how many new faces populate the roster, and for his sanity (and the fanbase's), it's probably a good thing he and the coaching staff hit the reset button.

I've noted several times throughout this spring that this is a much different group compared to the one we saw take the field in 2025, and that's in just about every area of the game. The physicality, toughness, care level, speed, and pure skill are in a whole other ballpark. Pump the brakes, though. This is still going to have the look of a team in the midst of a rebuild, but one that will compete every week and should have more than enough to get to a bowl game. In fact, I'd be stunned if they didn't make one.

So with that being said, I'll pit the Mountaineers against the Michigan State Spartans in the Rate Bowl out in Phoenix, Arizona. WVU has played in this bowl twice — 2015 vs. Arizona State (then known as the Cactus Bowl) and 2021 against Minnesota.

Way-Too-Early Record Prediction (wins in bold)

9/5 vs. Coastal Carolina
9/12 vs. UT Martin
9/19 vs. Virginia (in Charlotte, N.C.)
9/26 vs. Oklahoma State
10/3 at Iowa State
10/10 vs. Arizona
10/17 vs. Cincinnati
10/24 at TCU
11/7 at Texas Tech
11/14 vs. Kansas
11/21 vs. Houston
11/28 at Utah

The first half of the schedule is very favorable (on paper), and assuming they take care of business, they'll be playing to increase their bowl position.

There are two games very early in the year that can really sway West Virginia's season, in my opinion — Virginia and Oklahoma State. Winning both of those games sets the table for a strong year and leaves a rather large margin for error in terms of reaching the six-win mark. They'll be fine splitting those two, but dropping both of those games will make it incredibly difficult, especially with what they have in the final four weeks, taking on three teams who will be pushing for a spot in the Big 12 championship.

Aside from Houston, I feel fairly confident in the wins that I see. But again, it's early. They can snag the neutral field game against Virginia and could even upset Arizona at home. The three that are going to be an uphill battle are the road trips to TCU, Texas Tech, and Utah.

Big 12 Bowl ties for 2026-27 season

Valero Alamo Bowl
Pop-Tarts Bowl
Kinder’s Texas Bowl
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Rate Bowl
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
ESPN Events Pool of Games (several bowls with indirect ties)