Countdown to Kickoff: Mountaineers, Cavaliers to Meet in Duke’s Mayo Clash
September 19, 2026 09:00 AM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A visit to Charlotte, North Carolina, to face 25th-ranked Virginia in the Duke's Mayo Classic in Bank of America Stadium is on tap for the West Virginia University football team tonight.
The game came about as a result of the two schools partnering with the Charlotte Sports Foundation to take advantage of their strong alumni presences in the region and the opportunity to rekindle a regular season rivalry that was last played in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1985 – a 27-7 Cavalier victory.
The two schools also met in Charlotte in the Continental Tire Bowl, now known as the Duke's Mayo Bowl, in 2002, when West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez was in year two of his first coaching stint with the Mountaineers.
Virginia also claimed that game 48-22.
From 1972 to 1981, West Virginia captured six straight meetings in an intermittent series that has seen 23 games played since 1898. Six of them occurred at neutral-site venues, the seventh taking place on Saturday.
The two schools are also contracted to face each other again in 2032 in Charlotte.
This year's Virginia squad, coached by Tony Elliott, could be among the strongest Cavalier squads the Mountaineers have ever faced.
Elliott, who played for Mountaineer alum Tommy Bowden at Clemson when Rodriguez was Bowden's offensive coordinator, led Virginia to its best season in school history in 2025 and was an overtime loss to Duke in last year's ACC championship game away from qualifying for the College Football Playoffs.
He has done a masterful job building his roster through the transfer portal and assembling a team that reflects the way he wants to play football.
"They've done a great job of getting their guys in, retaining them and developing them," Rodriguez observed. "Now, they're playing with a bunch of grown men, and it shows on film. They're an experienced team that doesn't make many mistakes."
According to Phil Steele, Virginia is considered the 16th-most experienced team in the country this year with an offensive line that features fifth-, sixth- and even two seventh-year players. According to the Blue & Gold News, the group has a combined 175 game's-worth of starting experience heading into Saturday's clash against West Virginia.
Unable to get a sixth season for last year's starting quarterback, Chandler Morris, Elliott outbid a host of others in the transfer portal to sign Missouri's Beau Pribula and Pitt's Eli Holstein – two players with whom West Virginia is well acquainted.
Pribula, who began his collegiate career at Penn State, has been better than advertised through the team's dominant victories over NC State and Norfolk State. The senior has completed 21 of his 25 pass attempts for 317 yards and five touchdowns with just one interception. As a runner, the York, Pennsylvania, resident has gained 102 yards on 17 attempts and is now just 30 yards shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career.
"You have to account for all 11 guys on offense with Pribula," Rodriguez said.
Virginia's ground game features a duo of backs who have already surpassed 100 yards – sophomore Xay Davis (120) and senior Noah Vaughn (102) – and is averaging 247.5 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry.
In the opener against NC State, a 34-8 victory, the Cavaliers had a 23-play scoring drive that consumed 12:15 and ended with Davis's 1-yard touchdown run. The Cavs ran the ball 18 times, attempted five passes, and were successful four times on fourth down.
"They will run it until you stop them," Rodriguez said.
That plays well with an impressive Cavalier defense that was one of the stingiest in the country last year, allowing just 19.6 points, 113.9 yards rushing and 309.5 yards per game.
Many of the key performers on that unit are back, including linebacker Kam Robinson, who earned third team All-ACC honors in 2025 despite playing just eight games because of collarbone and knee injuries. Still, he managed to block a punt, return an interception for a touchdown and recover a fumble, demonstrating his big-play capabilities.
After sitting out the opener, the 6-foot-2, 239-pound senior was one of 98 players to see the field in Virginia's 56-point win over Norfolk State last Friday night and despite limited snaps, he managed to produce five tackles, including his 200th as a collegiate player.
Brandyn Hillman, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior strong safety, has already picked off three passes and must be accounted for when the Mountaineers throw the football.
Virginia limited Norfolk State to just 11 first downs and 223 total yards, which was actually more than NC State could muster in its week-zero encounter with the Cavaliers in Charlottesville.
The Wolfpack produced just 168 total yards and 10 first downs, resulting in a lone third-quarter touchdown. The 168-yard performance was the best by a Virginia defense since limiting VMI to 78 total yards in 2013.
"They make you earn every blade of grass that you get," Rodriguez said.
Here is tonight's Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – West Virginia has played TEN times on Sept. 19, most recently against Auburn in 2009.
9 – The Mountaineer rushing attack ranks NINTH in FBS this week after two games averaging 298.5 yards per contest.
8 – Through two games, kicker Jack Cassidy has already registered EIGHT touchbacks on his kickoffs - the most by any WVU kicker since 1995.
7 – West Virginia is hunting for at least one fumble recovery in its SEVENTH consecutive game dating back to last year.
6 – Tonight's game marks the SIXTH time West Virginia is playing a Charlotte-based game, either during the regular season or in a bowl game. The last Queen City visit was in 2024, when WVU topped North Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.
5 – The West Virginia defense has recorded at least nine tackles for loss in four of its last FIVE games dating back to last season.
4 – The Mountaineer defense has now produced FOUR takeaways for the season – three of those coming by way of fumble recoveries.
3 – Rich Rodriguez ranks THIRD among active power four coaches with 196 career victories heading into tonight's game.
2 – The Mountaineers have won BOTH games to begin the 2026 season – the first 2-0 start for West Virginia since 2018.
1 – West Virginia is averaging 7.4 yards per play on FIRST down so far this season, second best among the four downs. The Mountaineers are averaging 7.9 yards per play on third down.
Tonight's contest will kick off at 7:35 p.m. and will be televised nationally on the ACC Network (Wes Durham, Max Browne and Madison Fitzpatrick).
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning will get underway at 4:30 p.m. with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show leading into regular network coverage at 6:30 p.m.
Fans can access the radio broadcast on many stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
West Virginia and favored Virginia will be meeting for the 24th time with the Cavaliers owning a 12-10-1 edge in series play.
The Mountaineers are making their sixth visit to Charlotte and their third in regular season action. The last time WVU played a regular season game at Bank America Stadium in 2018, the Mountaineers topped Tennessee 40-14 before 66,793 spectators.
West Virginia's games against Virginia in 2002, against North Carolina in the 2008 Meineke Bowl and against Tennessee in 2018, each drew more than 66,000 spectators.
Be sure to stop back afterward for complete postgame coverage.
The game came about as a result of the two schools partnering with the Charlotte Sports Foundation to take advantage of their strong alumni presences in the region and the opportunity to rekindle a regular season rivalry that was last played in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1985 – a 27-7 Cavalier victory.
The two schools also met in Charlotte in the Continental Tire Bowl, now known as the Duke's Mayo Bowl, in 2002, when West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez was in year two of his first coaching stint with the Mountaineers.
Virginia also claimed that game 48-22.
From 1972 to 1981, West Virginia captured six straight meetings in an intermittent series that has seen 23 games played since 1898. Six of them occurred at neutral-site venues, the seventh taking place on Saturday.
The two schools are also contracted to face each other again in 2032 in Charlotte.
This year's Virginia squad, coached by Tony Elliott, could be among the strongest Cavalier squads the Mountaineers have ever faced.
Elliott, who played for Mountaineer alum Tommy Bowden at Clemson when Rodriguez was Bowden's offensive coordinator, led Virginia to its best season in school history in 2025 and was an overtime loss to Duke in last year's ACC championship game away from qualifying for the College Football Playoffs.
He has done a masterful job building his roster through the transfer portal and assembling a team that reflects the way he wants to play football.
"They've done a great job of getting their guys in, retaining them and developing them," Rodriguez observed. "Now, they're playing with a bunch of grown men, and it shows on film. They're an experienced team that doesn't make many mistakes."
According to Phil Steele, Virginia is considered the 16th-most experienced team in the country this year with an offensive line that features fifth-, sixth- and even two seventh-year players. According to the Blue & Gold News, the group has a combined 175 game's-worth of starting experience heading into Saturday's clash against West Virginia.
Unable to get a sixth season for last year's starting quarterback, Chandler Morris, Elliott outbid a host of others in the transfer portal to sign Missouri's Beau Pribula and Pitt's Eli Holstein – two players with whom West Virginia is well acquainted.
Pribula, who began his collegiate career at Penn State, has been better than advertised through the team's dominant victories over NC State and Norfolk State. The senior has completed 21 of his 25 pass attempts for 317 yards and five touchdowns with just one interception. As a runner, the York, Pennsylvania, resident has gained 102 yards on 17 attempts and is now just 30 yards shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career.
"You have to account for all 11 guys on offense with Pribula," Rodriguez said.
Virginia's ground game features a duo of backs who have already surpassed 100 yards – sophomore Xay Davis (120) and senior Noah Vaughn (102) – and is averaging 247.5 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry.
In the opener against NC State, a 34-8 victory, the Cavaliers had a 23-play scoring drive that consumed 12:15 and ended with Davis's 1-yard touchdown run. The Cavs ran the ball 18 times, attempted five passes, and were successful four times on fourth down.
"They will run it until you stop them," Rodriguez said.
That plays well with an impressive Cavalier defense that was one of the stingiest in the country last year, allowing just 19.6 points, 113.9 yards rushing and 309.5 yards per game.
Many of the key performers on that unit are back, including linebacker Kam Robinson, who earned third team All-ACC honors in 2025 despite playing just eight games because of collarbone and knee injuries. Still, he managed to block a punt, return an interception for a touchdown and recover a fumble, demonstrating his big-play capabilities.
After sitting out the opener, the 6-foot-2, 239-pound senior was one of 98 players to see the field in Virginia's 56-point win over Norfolk State last Friday night and despite limited snaps, he managed to produce five tackles, including his 200th as a collegiate player.
Brandyn Hillman, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior strong safety, has already picked off three passes and must be accounted for when the Mountaineers throw the football.
Virginia limited Norfolk State to just 11 first downs and 223 total yards, which was actually more than NC State could muster in its week-zero encounter with the Cavaliers in Charlottesville.
The Wolfpack produced just 168 total yards and 10 first downs, resulting in a lone third-quarter touchdown. The 168-yard performance was the best by a Virginia defense since limiting VMI to 78 total yards in 2013.
"They make you earn every blade of grass that you get," Rodriguez said.
Here is tonight's Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – West Virginia has played TEN times on Sept. 19, most recently against Auburn in 2009.
9 – The Mountaineer rushing attack ranks NINTH in FBS this week after two games averaging 298.5 yards per contest.
8 – Through two games, kicker Jack Cassidy has already registered EIGHT touchbacks on his kickoffs - the most by any WVU kicker since 1995.
7 – West Virginia is hunting for at least one fumble recovery in its SEVENTH consecutive game dating back to last year.
6 – Tonight's game marks the SIXTH time West Virginia is playing a Charlotte-based game, either during the regular season or in a bowl game. The last Queen City visit was in 2024, when WVU topped North Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.
5 – The West Virginia defense has recorded at least nine tackles for loss in four of its last FIVE games dating back to last season.
4 – The Mountaineer defense has now produced FOUR takeaways for the season – three of those coming by way of fumble recoveries.
3 – Rich Rodriguez ranks THIRD among active power four coaches with 196 career victories heading into tonight's game.
2 – The Mountaineers have won BOTH games to begin the 2026 season – the first 2-0 start for West Virginia since 2018.
1 – West Virginia is averaging 7.4 yards per play on FIRST down so far this season, second best among the four downs. The Mountaineers are averaging 7.9 yards per play on third down.
Tonight's contest will kick off at 7:35 p.m. and will be televised nationally on the ACC Network (Wes Durham, Max Browne and Madison Fitzpatrick).
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning will get underway at 4:30 p.m. with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show leading into regular network coverage at 6:30 p.m.
Fans can access the radio broadcast on many stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
West Virginia and favored Virginia will be meeting for the 24th time with the Cavaliers owning a 12-10-1 edge in series play.
The Mountaineers are making their sixth visit to Charlotte and their third in regular season action. The last time WVU played a regular season game at Bank America Stadium in 2018, the Mountaineers topped Tennessee 40-14 before 66,793 spectators.
West Virginia's games against Virginia in 2002, against North Carolina in the 2008 Meineke Bowl and against Tennessee in 2018, each drew more than 66,000 spectators.
Be sure to stop back afterward for complete postgame coverage.
| Tale of the Tape | UVA (2-0) | WVU (2-0) |
| Points Per Game | 46.5 | 41.5 |
| Points Against | 5.5 | 15.5 |
| Rushing Yards Per Game | 247.5 | 298.5 |
| Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game | 65.5 | 100.0 |
| Passing Yards Per Game | 192.0 | 170.5 |
| Passing Yards Allowed Per Game | 130.0 | 271.5 |
| Total Yards Per Game | 439.5 | 469.0 |
| Total Yards Allowed Per Game | 195.5 | 371.5 |
| First Downs For | 44 | 41 |
| First Downs Against | 21 | 40 |
| Fumbles/Lost | 0/0 | 3/2 |
| Interceptions/Return Yards | 4/100 | 4/3 |
| Net Punting | 43.3 | 39.1 |
| Field Goal/Attempts | 3/3 | 2/2 |
| Time of Possession | 33:08 | 29:06 |
| Penalties/Yards | 8/76 | 9/79 |
| 3rd Down Conversions | 7/22 | 17/30 |
| 3rd Down Conversion Defense | 8/30 | 9/26 |
| 4th Down Conversions | 5/5 | 1/1 |
| 4th Down Conversion Defense | 0/3 | 2/5 |
| Sacks By/Yards Lost | 4/23 | 7/49 |
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
K
/ FootballThursday, September 17
Wednesday, September 16
Wednesday, September 16
Wednesday, September 16
