(Editorial Note – I conducted a lengthy one-on-one interview with Shane Lyons a couple of months ago and have used that for a series of articles throughout the fall. Though Lyons was forced to step down as West Virginia’s director of athletics last week, this story is still relevant to our readers.)
West Virginia is one of just two FBS programs in the country – along with Colorado – that is playing 11 of its 12 regular season football games against Power 5 opponents this season.
The Mountaineers have nine games against Big 12 brethren this season, plus they also met ACC foes Pitt and Virginia Tech.
WVU will replicate that 11 P5s in 12 regular-season games again in both 2023 and ’24, when it faces Pitt and the Big Ten’s Penn State in each of those campaigns.
After 2024, though, WVU is going to start changing its football scheduling philosophy. At that point, on top of its nine Big 12 foes, it will face one non-conference foe from a Power 5 league, one from a Group of 5 league and one from the FCS level. West Virginia’s non-conference slate is currently filled through 2027.
“We’re scheduling pretty far out,” explained former WVU director of athletics Shane Lyons. “We had been scheduling two Power 5 opponents and one FCS opponent for our three non-conference games. Now I look at it and we’ll schedule a Power 5, a Group of 5 and an FCS, plus your nine conference games. You’ll see that starting in ’25 (Pitt, Ohio University and Robert Morris).
“When the College Football Playoff started, there was a lot talk about strength of schedule, so we wanted a strong schedule,” WVU’s former A.D. continued. “My philosophy and my predecessor’s philosophy was we better not let strength of schedule keep us out of the talk if we’re winning our football games. That component has changed some, though.”
Indeed, since 2014 when the College Football Playoff, which uses a selection committee, took over for the BCS, which used a combination of human polls and computer rankings, strength of schedule doesn’t seem to be as heavily weighted. Of last year’s four CFP semifinalists, none played more than 10 Power 5 opponents. As a member of the SEC, each of whom has eight conference games annually, Alabama played nine P5s in the regular season with non-conference contests against Miami (Fla.), Mercer, Southern Miss and New Mexico State. Georgia had its eight SEC games along with Clemson, UAB, Georgia Tech and ÂŇÂ×ÄÚÉä Southern. Michigan also played 10 Power 5s with nine Big Ten games along with non-conference affairs against Washington, Western Michigan and Northern Illinois. And Cincinnati, which from The American became the first Group of 5 team to earn a CFP spot, faced just two Power 5s in the regular season – Indiana and Notre Dame. Of course, the Bearcats will be moving up to the Big 12 Conference in 2023.
West Virginia’s own move to the Big 12 Conference in 2012 meant leaving its old rivals behind. Lately, though, the Mountaineers have been rekindling their old flames. They’ve played Maryland and Virginia Tech in recent years and will face Penn State in a two-game home-and-home series in 2023 (State College) and ’24 (Morgantown).
This year, WVU opened its season with the first Backyard Brawl since 2011, and it will meet Pitt a total of eight times over the next 11 years (2022-25 and 2029-32).
Continuing the Brawl after ’32 is a good possibility as well.
“The more we can play Pitt the better,” stated Lyons. “I’m not sure it will be every year, but it will probably be similar to what we have now with a four-game series, a little break and then come back with another four. That seems a good way of doing it. That way you can sprinkle in a Penn State, a Virginia Tech, a Maryland, someone like that.”
It’s not easy fitting the old rivals into WVU’s slate, as they each have their own scheduling philosophies as well. Virginia Tech’s future football schedule is full through 2030. Maryland has openings starting in 2027, but the Terps normally don’t schedule more than one non-conference Power 5 opponent per year, and that slot is filled for UM through 2029. Likewise, Penn State typically doesn’t stress itself much in non-conference action. The Nittany Lions faced Auburn earlier this season, and then WVU (2023-24) and Syracuse (2027-28), but those are the only Power 5 non-conference foes currently on PSU’s schedule through 2028.
So, it’s not always simple for the Mountaineers to find corresponding openings with old rivals. They’re fortunate that Pitt’s administration seems receptive to keeping the Backyard Brawl as a semi-regular event.
“Both myself and leadership at Pitt with Heather (Lyke) have a similar philosophy in that we’ll play a four-game series and then have a couple of years in there where we play someone else,” said Lyons. “We have a game in Charlotte against Tennessee (in 2028) and a home-and-home with Alabama (2026 in Morgantown and 2027 in Tuscaloosa). We also have years where maybe we could add a Power 5 rival, like a Maryland. Virginia Tech is scheduled so far out, adding them would be hard.”
Lyons made it a priority to get WVU’s old rivals back on the Mountaineers’ football schedule.
The Backyard Brawl is a priority in that regard, and after an 11-year hiatus, Pitt-West Virginia will be playing on a fairly regular basis again, at least for the next decade.
