Arizona 52-31 West Virginia (Oct 10, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: Arizona · West Virginia

Arizona5-152

West Virginia3-331Final

Sat, Oct 10 · Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, W.Va. · Crowd 50,121

Arizona beat West Virginia 52-31.

We had Arizona favored. It won.

Next: Arizona vs Iowa State, Sat Oct 24 · 7:30 PM ET · Arizona favored by 10

Next: West Virginia beat Cincinnati 45-42, Sat Oct 17

Top comment in the game thread

Teams keep hitting us with the razzle dazzle when neither razzle nor dazzle are required to score on this defense.

Q4 11:35 · r/CFB game thread · Sat, Oct 10

How it swung

The turning point: Molette 32-yd fumble return TD, Arizona leads 14-3 (Q1, 5:03). Arizona went from 64% to 83% to win.

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Arizona an 88% chance, and the closing betting line (Arizona was a 3.5-point favorite) put it at 61%.

Arizona won by 21, after dipping to 40% in the first quarter.

West Virginia never had better than a 60% chance.

Fumble return TD

Arizona · Q1 5:03

FinalArizona 52-31 West VirginiaArizona wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.

The two plays that swung it

1Q1 5:03FumbleMolette 32-yd fumble return TD, Arizona leads 14-3Arizona 64% → 83% (+19)
2Q3 0:13Fifita 72-yd TD pass to Mizell, Arizona leads 38-24Arizona 80% → 94% (+14)

The two plays that swung it

1Q1 5:03FumbleMolette 32-yd fumble return TD, Arizona leads 14-3West Virginia 36% → 17% (−19)
2Q3 0:13Fifita 72-yd TD pass to Mizell, Arizona leads 38-24West Virginia 20% → 6% (−14)

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q2 13:44WVU defense intercepts Fifita pass, fans mock obvious penalty callHahaha. The dumbest PI I’ve ever seen in my life. What are you doing, my dude?r/CFB game thread
Q2 12:59A fan in the stands wore a hoodie with the phrase 'bitch, shut the fuck up'.how in the world did that guy ever get into the stadium with that hoodie on?r/CFB game thread
Q2 0:51Arizona recovers Cook fumble as fans debate forward progress and celebrate the turnoverPreviously play was a fumble. This play should have been called dead well before it was stripped.r/CFB game thread
Q4 11:35Arizona scores on two plays as West Virginia fans mock their defenseQuoted at the top of the page.Legitimately the worst WVU defense I’ve seen in my life and that’s a very high barr/CFB game thread
Q4 9:40Arizona fans demand rankings as Roberts scores on WVU's collapsing defenseAnother 3 play TD drive? Okay I concede, you have the worse defense.r/CFB game threadI don’t think we were even trying to score that fastr/CFB game thread

Arizona’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (Arizona -3.5), at 47% for Arizona (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Outlined diamonds mark rare plays. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a West Virginia or Arizona flair (483 and 583); both sides share one scale, regulation only. A gold diamond marks a play fans were reacting to.

Watch the plays

The bar and the arrow show Arizona’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.

Every drive

Arizona scored on 7 of its 14 drives; West Virginia on 5 of its 14.

Arizona’s drives are teal, West Virginia’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

From West Virginia’s side

West Virginia’s best moment: Hawkins 3-yd TD run, cuts it to 14-10 (Q2 12:59). It lifted West Virginia’s win chance by 13 points.

How West Virginia fans took it: “At least Pitt and Nards lost today.” r/CFB game thread

“Time to destroy a perfectly good football!!!”

An Arizona fan

How fans reacted

Steady

Fans peaked in the fourth quarter.

Jump to the loudest stretch

The jump was steady; the crowd was steady.

Two crowds, one game

The words each side’s fans used far more than the other side, from the game thread.

West Virginia fans

alley“Go ahead and drop the new release that we have moved on from Zac Alley. It’s not that hard.”

Both sets of fans kept coming back to: ball, back, yards, getting.

What it cost

Arizona’s chance to make the playoff rose from 5% to 6%.

Make the playoff

Arizona · won5% → ▲6%

West Virginia · lost0% → 0%

Win the conference

Arizona · won4% → ▲5%

West Virginia · lost0% → 0%

Before the game (October 9, 2026) → after this result, in our model.

Arizona plays vs Iowa State on Sat Oct 24 with a 6% chance to make the playoff.

Box score

Arizona 52, West Virginia 31

Arizona covered −3.5 by 17.5. The total, 83, went over 61.5.

Team totals	Arizona	West Virginia
Total yards	482	522
Passing	17 of 24, 341 yds	11 of 28, 219 yds
Rushing	27 for 141 yds	76 for 303 yds
First downs	20	30
Third down	3 of 8	9 of 19
Fourth down	0 of 0	2 of 7
Turnovers	1	2
Penalties	8 for 71 yds	8 for 80 yds
Time of possession	24:10	35:50

Arizona leaders

Passing Noah Fifita 16 of 23, 341 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Antwan Roberts 7 for 63 yds, 1 TD; Quincy Craig 2 for 44 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Isaiah Mizell 6 for 183 yds, 2 TD; Brandon Phelps 4 for 88 yds, 1 TD

West Virginia leaders

Passing Michael Hawkins Jr. 11 of 28, 219 yds
Rushing Cam Cook 34 for 141 yds, 2 TD; Michael Hawkins Jr. 25 for 98 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Prince Strachan 5 for 121 yds; Amari Latimer 3 for 44 yds

No rain and calm

67° at kickoff · no rain recorded · wind 6 mph from the east-southeast, gusts to 23

October game-day temperatures at Milan Puskar Stadium

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

First quarter, 5:03 left12:30 p.m.

Arizona 14, West Virginia 3 · West Virginia 17% to win

no rain · wind 5 mph from the east, gusts to 13 · 68°

Molette 32-yd fumble return TD, Arizona leads 14-3

Measured at Morgantown/hart Fld airport, 2.1 miles away. Wind and rain are airport readings near the stadium, not on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last three games

Arizona · 4-1

Rated 27th in our preseason ratings, 20th now.

Three straight wins — but still hunting a ranked opponent.

W 34-7 vs Cincinnati #94 of 668

won by 27 as a 7-point favorite

W 34-24 @ Washington State #50 of 668

won by 10 as an 11.5-point favorite

W 42-17 vs Northern Illinois #108 of 668

won by 25 as a 34.5-point favorite

L 17-28 @ BYUTop 25 #9 of 668

lost by 11 as a 6.5-point underdog

W 35-7 vs Northern Arizona #152 of 668

won by 28 as a 33.5-point favorite

Last three games

West Virginia · 3-2

Rated 182nd in our preseason ratings, 158th now, up 24 spots.

1-2 in its last three, including a 11-point win over Virginia as a 10.5-point underdog.

L 42-45 @ Iowa State #112 of 668

lost by 3 as a 3-point underdog

L 24-41 vs Oklahoma StateTop 25 #148 of 668

lost by 17 as a 1.5-point favorite

W 38-27 @ VirginiaTop 25 #50 of 668

won by 11 as a 10.5-point underdog

W 52-7 vs UT Martin #171 of 668

won by 45 as a 41.5-point favorite

W 31-24 vs Coastal Carolina #228 of 668

won by 7 as a 21-point favorite

Week by week

West Virginia

Wk 1Wvs Coastal Carolina31-24
Wk 2Wvs UT Martin52-7
Wk 3Wat Virginia38-27
Wk 4Lvs Oklahoma State24-41
Wk 5Lat Iowa State42-45

Arizona

Wk 1Wvs Northern Arizona35-7
Wk 2Lat BYU17-28
Wk 3Wvs Northern Illinois42-17
Wk 4Wat Washington State34-24
Wk 5Wvs Cincinnati34-7

Power rating by week

Arizona is rated 13.1 points ahead as of week 5. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: West Virginia’s explosive plays against Arizona, 81 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

West Virginia’s explosive plays against Arizona’s defense
West Virginia offense, 83rd percentile · Arizona defense, 2nd
Arizona’s EPA/play against West Virginia’s defense
Arizona offense, 81st percentile · West Virginia defense, 3rd
Arizona’s passing EPA against West Virginia’s defense
Arizona offense, 81st percentile · West Virginia defense, 0th

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

ArizonaWest Virginia

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

The series

West Virginia leads the series 1-0

1 meeting since 2024 · West Virginia won the last meeting

2024West Virginia 31-26

Each line is West Virginia’s chance to win through that meeting.

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Arizona fans are feeling it more than most fanbases this week (65th among FBS fanbases), in line with the numbers.

Arizona favored by 3.5 · Total 61.5

How games like this usually go

Arizona by 3.5, and it went to form

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 377 games since 2025 with a favorite of 3.5 to 7.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 0.5 points toward Arizona.

The books’ cut: 4.5%, the margin built into the odds

Home field

West Virginia is worth +4.0 points (±3.7) more at home than on the road since 2018 — middle of FBS, 50th percentile.

56% at home, 36% on the road against FBS opponents (25-20 home, 16-28 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +2.7 at home vs. away over 97 games — inside the ±6.0 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

The visitors travel about 1,798 miles to get here.

Where next

Conference standings

Place in the conference, then conference record.

West Virginia16th0-2
Arizona9th1-1

Full Big 12 standings

Arizona beats West Virginia 52-31