WVU-UCF Put on 6-Day Window for Time and Network

Next week’s WVU football home game against UCF has been placed on a six-day window for kickoff time and broadcast network, the Big 12 conference announced Monday. The time and television network for the game will be announced after the games on Nov. 16

West Virginia (5-4, 4-2 Big 12) hosts Baylor this week while UCF (4-6, 2-5) is on a bye.

The Golden Knights have struggled since the start of conference play, dropping six of their last seven games. A win over Arizona two weeks ago snapped a five-game skid that dated back to late September.

UCF lost to Arizona State, 35-31, on Saturday. The Sun Devils were without star running back Cam Skattebo, but scored the go-ahead touchdown with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter. UCF outgained ASU 406-260, but lost the turnover battle and missed a pair of field goals.

West Virginia won on the road on Saturday, surviving against Cincinnati, 31-24. The Mountaineers scored multiple defensive touchdowns for the first time in over 20 years and forced three total turnovers in the first game since firing former defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley.

Like UCF, West Virginia was badly outgained on offense, 346-248. Unlike UCF, however, the Mountaineers won the turnover battle 3-1 and scored on a short field following a long punt return.

Even while being happy about holding on for the win, WVU coach Neal Brown couldn’t ignore the noticeable struggles on the offensive side of the ball. A couple weeks after Nicco Marchiol performed admirably in Arizona, he was only able to total 174 yards against Cincinnati.

West Virginia is 3-0 all-time against UCF. The teams met as Big 12 foes for the first time last season, a 41-28 Mountaineer victory in Orlando, Fla. Before that, the teams played in back-to-back years in 2003 and 2004. WVU won 36-18 in 2003 and 45-20 in 2004.

The 2003 game was the one and only time the Golden Knights have played in Morgantown. Next week will be the second time as UCF travels to Milan Puskar Stadium.

For a related story, oddsmakers are unsure how to predict WVU football vs. Baylor this week.