Saturday, 2026-09-12 | 12:00 PM CT | Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, WV | ESPN+
DraftKings snapshot: not yet posted in the ESPN/DraftKings feed | Over/under: not yet posted [S1]
What’s at stake
West Virginia won Rich Rodriguez’s return game, but the 31-24 score hid two completely different halves. The Mountaineers led Coastal Carolina 24-0, then were outscored 24-7 after halftime and needed the full four quarters to survive. UT Martin answered an opening loss to Central Arkansas with a 42-7 win over first-year program Chicago State. [S2/S3/S4/S5]
This is the first meeting. West Virginia should win, but this is a chance to show it can finish cleanly before the schedule becomes less forgiving. For UT Martin, the upset path is obvious: test the secondary that just allowed 373 passing yards and avoid helping WVU’s run-heavy offense with penalties or short fields. [S2/S3/S6]
Three things to know
- Both offenses found their identity on the ground: West Virginia rushed 61 times for 281 yards, with Cam Cook and Michael Hawkins Jr. both topping 100. UT Martin rushed for 216 yards and six touchdowns against Chicago State, led by Tommy Ansley’s 106 yards and three scores. The team that wins early downs can keep the other offense watching from the sideline. [S2/S3]
- West Virginia’s secondary has an immediate repair job: Coastal Carolina threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. UT Martin’s Tate Surber did not throw a touchdown last week, but the Skyhawks averaged 10 yards per pass attempt and had three receivers reach 55 yards. An FCS opponent still has a real route to explosive plays if WVU repeats its second-half coverage problems. [S2/S3]
- The sloppiness can erase the talent gap: UT Martin committed 13 penalties for 110 yards and turned the ball over twice. West Virginia had seven penalties for 70 yards, including five for 50 yards in a third quarter when Coastal ran 21 plays to WVU’s six. The Mountaineers should control this game, but another penalty-filled stretch could keep it uncomfortable. [S2/S3]
Stat comparison
| Metric | UT Martin 2026 | West Virginia 2026 | UT Martin 2025 rank | West Virginia 2025 rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | 33.0 (FCS; no FBS rank) | 31.0 (No. 69*) | FCS — not ranked with FBS | No. 116 |
| Points allowed per game | 21.5 (FCS; no FBS rank) | 24.0 (No. 92*) | FCS — not ranked with FBS | No. 100 |
| Yards per game | 386.5 (FCS; no FBS rank) | 413.0 (No. 60*) | FCS — not ranked with FBS | No. 96 |
| Yards allowed per game | 331.0 (FCS; no FBS rank) | 425.0 (No. 106*) | FCS — not ranked with FBS | No. 106 |
| Passing yards per game | 204.0 (FCS; no FBS rank) | 132.0 (No. 110*) | FCS — not ranked with FBS | No. 103 |
| Passing yards allowed per game | 198.0 (FCS; no FBS rank) | 373.0 (No. 125*) | FCS — not ranked with FBS | No. 129 |
| Turnover margin | -3 (FCS; no FBS rank) | +1 (No. 30*) | FCS — not ranked with FBS | No. 57 |
*The 2026 ranking is based on the 131 teams who had played by Saturday night. We did not wait on the Sunday and Monday college football games to publish the majority of our previews. [S2/S3/S4/S5/S10]
Players to watch
- UT Martin — Tommy Ansley: He rushed 16 times for 106 yards and three touchdowns against Chicago State. The sophomore produced half of UT Martin's six rushing scores. [S3/S8]
- West Virginia — Cam Cook: The Jacksonville State transfer rushed 30 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns. His 72-yard run on West Virginia's first snap set up a touchdown 47 seconds into the season. [S2/S7]
Looking for a prediction?
I make final predictions on my TikTok/YouTube/Instagram/Facebook pages @uthinkuknowsports.
Sources
- S1: ESPN UT Martin-West Virginia game page
- S2: West Virginia official 31-24 Coastal Carolina recap and coach comments
- S3: ESPN Chicago State-UT Martin final box score
- S4: Chicago State official UT Martin recap
- S5: ESPN Central Arkansas-UT Martin final box score
- S6: West Virginia official announcement identifying the first UT Martin meeting
- S7: West Virginia official 2026 football roster
- S8: UT Martin official 2026 football roster
- S9: UT Martin official 2026 football media center
- S10: SportsDataverse/ESPN 2025 team-summary source
Full disclosure: I use AI tools to format my research into an article encompassing all of the information.
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