West Virginia's Neutral Site Game vs. Virginia Just Got a Whole Lot More Interesting

September 14th, 2025, is a day West Virginia fans will always remember. It's probably one that former Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein would like to bury forever, but he won't escape the talk of it anytime soon, especially come the week of September 19th, 2026, when the Virginia Cavaliers meet West Virginia in Charlotte for a neutral site game.

Holstein, if you're picking up the pieces, announced his commitment to Virginia on Tuesday, where he will not necessarily have a clear path to the starting job.

BREAKING: Pitt transfer QB Eli Holstein has committed to Virginia, @Hayesfawcett3 and @PeteNakos report⚔️https://t.co/9g5epsI7fd pic.twitter.com/571HgxopjM
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) January 14, 2026

Earlier in the month, the Hoos also landed former Penn State and Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula, a name Mountaineer fans should be familiar with as Neal Brown and his staff recruited him hard out of high school.

Pribula may be viewed as the favorite because of his experience at a big-time program as well as the SEC, but tends to put the ball in harm's way more than a coach would like, so there's certainly a chance the former Pitt Panther beats him out and starts against the Mountaineers for the second straight year.

In this past fall's game against WVU, Holstein had a nice day statistically (who didn't against that unit?), but he took an absolute beating. It was the best Zac Alley's defense got after the passer all year long, generating 27 pressures, 15 hurries, seven sacks, and five QB hits.

That led to this iconic postgame photo from Holstein's postgame press conference, which was blasted on social media for weeks, as West Virginia fans enjoyed badgering its most heated rival.

During his time at Pitt, Holstein completed 61.8% of his pass attempts, throwing for 3,309 yards and 29 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. He also rushed for 416 yards and four touchdowns on 117 carries.

Leading into that game in Charlotte, the Mountaineers will have two home games against Coastal Carolina (9/5) and UT Martin (9/12). So in theory, West Virginia should be taking a 2-0 record into that matchup with Holstein and the Cavaliers.

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