Looking Back At BYU Football’s History With West Virginia
Sep 30, 2025, 4:08 PM
PROVO, Utah – The No. 23 BYU Cougars football program returns to Provo this weekend, opening its 2025 Big 12 Conference home schedule against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The Cougars welcome West Virginia into LaVell Edwards Stadium for the first time on Friday, October 3. Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m. MT.
RELATED: BYU Football Releases Depth Chart For West Virginia Game
Friday’s matchup marks the third time these programs have met on the gridiron.
The Cougars seek their first win over West Virginia after losing to the Mountaineers in 2016 and 2023.
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West Virginia rudely welcomes BYU into the Big 12
2023 was a momentous year for BYU athletics programs following their transition to the Big 12 Conference.
The excitement was short-lived for Kalani Sitake and the football program, whose jump to Big 12 competition encountered numerous speed bumps along the way. A 37-7 loss in Morgantown, West Virginia, was the second in what ended up being a five-game losing streak to close year one in the new league.
BYU Football: Instant Takeaways From Loss At West Virginia
Jake Retzlaff made his Cougar debut, throwing for 210 yards and flashing some of the skills that would make him the undisputed QB1 in 2024. Retzlaff rarely had a clean pocket as the BYU offensive line allowed three sacks and eight tackles for a loss in a disappointing performance.
Brigham Young fell behind 37-0 before Aidan Robbins scored a meaningless touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
BYU finished the season 5-7 and 2-7 in the first year of Big 12 Conference play.
Cougars fall short against Mountaineers in 2016
The first game between the programs came in 2016, when Kalani Sitake was still adjusting in year one as the BYU head coach.
Taysom Hill accounted for 352 yards of offense, including 111 rushing yards, but his team came up short after a fourth-quarter interception ended the Cougars’ final drive with 1:09 left in a 35-32 loss.
West Virginia’s Rasul Douglas flipped the momentum in the second quarter when he plucked the first of Hill’s three INTs out of the air and returned it 54 yards for a touchdown.
The Mountaineers led 35-19 after a nine-yard Skyler Howard touchdown pass with 11:27 left in the final quarter.
The Cougars cut the deficit to three with back-to-back touchdown drives midway through the quarter. Hill ended up throwing interceptions on BYU’s final two drives in the loss.
Jamaal Williams ran for 170 yards and two scores, averaging seven yards per carry. Mitchell Juergens and Moroni Laulu-Pututau caught TDs.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
