WVU Football
Mike Hawkins Makes WVU History in Multiple Ways in Victory Over Cincinnati
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – With WVU in desperate need of a win, it was Mike Hawkins to the rescue on Saturday afternoon. Validating his ability to throw if necessary, Hawkins threw for 464 yards, a career-high that also made program history, in West Virginia’s 45-42 shootout win over Cincinnati.
Only able to run for 77 yards on top of Cam Cook’s 40-yard day, Hawkins accounted for 541 of the Mountaineers’ 598 yards of total offense in the game. The former four-star recruit and transfer from Oklahoma became the first West Virginia signal caller to throw for over 400 yards and run for at least 75 in a single game. His 464 yards passing are the most for any Mountaineer quarterback since Will Grier’s 539 against Oklahoma in 2018.
He even joined Grier, Skyler Howard, Clint Trickett and Geno Smith as the only WVU quarterbacks to ever throw for 460 plus passing yards and have three or more passing touchdowns in a game. Hawkins’ performance stands as the fifth most passing yards in a game in program history, too.
West Virginia quarterback Mike Hawkins celebrates a touchdown against Cincinnati during the 2026 season. (WVSN photo by Kelsie LeRose)
Both Hawkins, who completed 25-of-33 passes in the game, and head coach Rich Rodriguez said they knew the matchup would call for having to throw more while also acknowledging the back and forth nature of how the game unfolded also played a factor in airing it out as much.
“How about Mike Hawkins? He was phenomenal. I didn’t know he threw for 464. He made some great throws. I’ve said it all year. He can make all the throws and we got good wideouts, but he’s such a dynamic runner that people [forget about the passing]. I have no hesitation on any pass play if Mike can make the throw. Today, he made a lot of them,” said Rodriguez to praise his quarterback.
Overall on the year, the redshirt sophomore now has 1,519 passing yards, 749 rushing yards with 24 total touchdown and only one interception through seven games.
Hawkins, a Dallas, Texas native, will now try to keep up the momentum next week in a game he admitted he’s had circled all year, a road trip to TCU to face the Horned Frogs.
