This is the sixth post in a twelve-post series that gives a preseason analysis of every opponent the Cincinnati Bearcats take on this upcoming college football season. We last looked at the Bearcats week five matchup against the Arizona Wildcats, their first true road game of the season.
The Bearcats' third Big 12 game of the season is on October 17th against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown. The Mountaineers are projected to finish around the middle of the pack this season after going 4-8 last season and going 2-7 in the Big 12 in Rich Rodriguez's first season back as the head coach.
The Mountaineers lost 46, yes, 46 players to the transfer portal this offseason; they did add 37 players from the portal and another 36 players coming in from high school. Their big-name transfer additions are quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. from Oklahoma, wide receiver TaRon Francis from LSU, wide receiver Prince Strachan from USC, tight end Josh Sapp from Clemson, and EDGE Tobi Haastrup from Oregon.
They brought in a very good high school class. On3 and Rivals have it ranked as No. 1 in the Big 12, and 247 Sports has it ranked as No. 4. The class comes around 20-25 nationally in all three publications. The high school class is led by 4-star offensive tackle Kevin Brown and 4-star athlete Matt Seig.
The Mountaineers had a very productive offseason and have also bought in financially to Rich Rod and his second stint at West Virginia. The Mountaineers have a great chance to make some noise in the Big 12 but it ultimately comes down to how far the coaches can take them.
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