Our side
MoneylineCIN to win
ours 39%
Projected score
26–26
CIN – WVU
2026-10-17 · kickoff TBD
Milan Puskar Stadium · Morgantown, WV
B12 game
Early season
The books
No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.
Series
West Virginia lead
18–3–1
· 22 meetings since 1921
2025 unit ranks —
last completed season, from games actually played
Run game
even
28 ranks apart
Cincinnati Bearcats #27 rush offense
West Virginia Mountaineers #55 run defense
Pass game
edge Cincinnati Bearcats
152 ranks
Cincinnati Bearcats #37 pass offense
West Virginia Mountaineers #189 pass defense
Run game
edge Cincinnati Bearcats
68 ranks
West Virginia Mountaineers #253 rush offense
Cincinnati Bearcats #185 run defense
Pass game
even
37 ranks apart
West Virginia Mountaineers #189 pass offense
Cincinnati Bearcats #152 pass defense
Cincinnati Bearcats
Balanced · 53% run
Ball-control
Dual-threat QB · 48 rush ypg
West Virginia Mountaineers
Run-heavy · 62% run
Ball-control
Scott Satterfield · 80-57 · offense-minded
Rich Rodriguez · 39-38 · defense-minded
Ranked by team-unit strength
(rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265
D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the
2025 season.
The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above
Who carried each team in 2025
Cincinnati Bearcats
RB
Gi'Bran Payne
210 rush yds · 2 TD · 2 rec
#70 RB
DL
Josh Hough
7 tkl · 1.5 sacks · 1.5 TFL
#206 DL
WR
JV Gibson
9 rec · 133 yds · 2 TD
#129 WR
LB
Jonathan Thompson
14 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL
#144 LB
West Virginia Mountaineers
RB
Cam Cook
194 rush yds · 3 TD · 2 rec
#38 RB
QB
Michael Hawkins Jr.
287 pass yds · 3 TD · 0 INT
#21 QB
LB
Isaiah Patterson
14 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 1.5 TFL
#193 LB
WR
DJ Epps
5 rec · 148 yds · 1 TD
#211 WR
Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their
position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no
2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for
these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.
Power breakdown
Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).
Where the number comes from
Cincinnati offense vs West Virginia defense+4.8 pts
West Virginia offense vs Cincinnati defense-1.4 pts
Rest · context onlyAway team on 7 more days rest
An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have
played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.
Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest
were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them.
Adding them again would double-count.