Ranking the Five Most Intriguing Games on WVU's 2023 Schedule

Which games should Mountaineer fans have circled on the schedule?

The 2023 football season is almost here and despite the low expectations for West Virginia, there's several interesting games on the schedule. Today, I breakdown my five most intriguing games.

5. 11/18 vs. Cincinnati

You could make a case for Texas Tech and if I'm being honest, they probably deserve this spot more. However, I didn't want to focus completely on the first half of the schedule. I'm not expecting much from Cincinnati this season and you shouldn't either. But I am excited to see how this game goes and if it's the start of a natural Big 12 rivalry. No, Cincy will never come close to Pitt or Virginia Tech, but it would be nice to see some pure hatred between WVU and a yearly opponent.

4. 10/12 at Houston

The obvious, right? Again, not a game that will have the attention of everyone in the country or even the Big 12 for that matter, but for WVU and Houston, it's going to be an interesting game. Can Neal Brown defeat his predecessor? If not, it's just another knock on Brown's already stale resume in Morgantown.

3. 9/30 at TCU

If the Mountaineers can manage to keep its head above water throughout the first four weeks of the season, this matchup will reveal whether or not West Virginia has a chance to do something special. The Horned Frogs lost a lot of pieces from last year's national championship team but there's enough left over for them to make another run at a Big 12 title. This will be a top 20, top 15 team, so winning this game on the road would be an impressive feat.

2. 9/2 at Penn State

Not only is it the first game of the season, but it's the first time these two have met since 1992. It's hard to believe it's been this long since the Mountaineers saw the Nittany Lions. There's not a single player on either roster that was alive when these two last played...crazy. 

But as far as the actual game, this is an extremely challenging environment for this young team to walk into right out of the gate. Penn State will be heavily favored and everyone expects WVU to get blown out. Can they keep it close? Could they pull off a miracle and win? How they perform in Happy Valley Week 1 could raise expectations. With the bar already being fairly low, I don't think what happens could lower the expectations.

1. 9/16 vs. Pitt

Before you began reading this, you already knew this would be my top game, didn't you? How could it not be? This is the most pivotal game on the docket for Neal Brown. Assuming WVU loses to Penn State, Brown can't afford to drop this one as well. It's hard to overcome two straight losses to your bitter rival and a 1-2 start to the season. Plus, this is the first time the Brawl has been played in Morgantown since 2011. This might be one of the craziest atmospheres we've ever seen at Mountaineer Field. Buckle up. It's going to be a fun one.

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