Wk 12 · 2026
Houston Cougars at West Virginia Mountaineers — Sat, Nov 21
Sat, Nov 21 ·
Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, WV
Weather
No forecast yet. This one is 40 days away and has no kickoff time yet. Forecasts reach about 16 days ahead, so this fills in nearer the game. A seasonal average printed here would look exactly like a forecast, which is why there is not one.
#22 Houston Cougars
Big 12 · 5-1
at
TBDET
no line posted yet
Ratings differential HOU by 14.2
Big 12 · 3-3
What is at stake
A Big 12 game — it counts in the standings that decide that league's championship game. Run the race. Houston is ranked #22 (AP Top 25 · 2026-10-04).
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
2.4 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have
changed.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense (pts/100)
Defense (pts/100)
Pace (plays/g)
Yards / play
Yards / play allowed
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College
King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so
the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a
longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the
good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so
neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats · 2026 per game
Points / game
Points allowed
Yards / game
Yards allowed
Pass yds allowed
Rush yds allowed
Turnovers / game
From completed 2026 box scores;
defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.
Houston form
W 35-16at KSUW 27-17vs UCFW 42-28at GASOL 26-28at TTUW 77-6vs SOU
2026 season
West Virginia form
L 31-52vs ARIZL 42-45at ISUL 24-41vs OKSTW 38-27at UVAW 52-7vs UTM
2026 season
Houston this season
Straight up5-1 · 83% (6 games)
Against the spread3-3 · 50% (6 games)
Over / under4-2 · 67% (6 games)
West Virginia this season
Straight up3-3 · 50% (6 games)
Against the spread2-3-1 · 40% (6 games)
Over / under6-0 · 100% (6 games)
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 4
| Opponent | Houston | West Virginia |
|---|---|---|
| Texas Tech Big 12 | at L 26-28 preview | at Wk 10 · scheduled preview |
| Oklahoma St Big 12 | vs Wk 7 · scheduled preview | vs L 24-41 preview |
| Utah Big 12 | at Wk 8 · scheduled preview | at Wk 13 · scheduled preview |
| Cincinnati Big 12 | vs Wk 10 · scheduled preview | vs Wk 7 · scheduled preview |
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Since 2006, the series is level at 1–1 · West Virginia won the last one
2 meetings
in 2006–2026 · average margin
4.0 points toward West Virginia
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2025-11-01 | West Virginia 45 — 35 Houston | at HOU | West Virginia |
| 2023 | 2023-10-12 | West Virginia 39 — 41 Houston | at HOU | Houston |
Houston leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Conner Weigman QB #1 | 91/135, 1186 YDS, 11 TD, 1 INT |
| Keisean Henderson QB #5 | 6/8, 83 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Rushing | Re'Shaun Sanford II RB #6 | 55 CAR, 314 YDS, 2 TD |
| Makhi Hughes RB #21 | 66 CAR, 309 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Conner Weigman QB #1 | 42 CAR, 156 YDS, 6 TD | |
| Receiving | Amare Thomas WR #0 | 27 REC, 330 YDS, 4 TD |
| Patrick Overmyer TE #9 | 25 REC, 317 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Trent Walker WR #4 | 14 REC, 198 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Koby Young WR #2 | 8 REC, 176 YDS, 4 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Kentrell Webb DB #8 | 32 |
| Jaden Yates LB #1 | 29 | |
| Javion White DB #0 | 20 | |
| Sacks | Javion White DB #0 | 2.5 |
| Ashton Porter DL #9 | 2 | |
| Khalil Laufau DL #18 | 1.5 | |
| Interceptions | Jordan Allen DB #6 | 1 |
| Will James DB #5 | 1 | |
| Latreveon McCutchin LB #10 | 1 |
West Virginia leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Michael Hawkins Jr. QB #3 | 47/83, 836 YDS, 7 TD, 1 INT |
| Scotty Fox Jr. QB #15 | 2/4, 27 YDS | |
| Rushing | Cam Cook RB #4 | 119 CAR, 652 YDS, 5 TD |
| Michael Hawkins Jr. QB #3 | 92 CAR, 574 YDS, 11 TD | |
| Amari Latimer RB #1 | 20 CAR, 97 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | DJ Epps WR #2 | 14 REC, 393 YDS, 4 TD |
| Jaden Bray WR #5 | 9 REC, 152 YDS | |
| John Neider WR #80 | 6 REC, 71 YDS | |
| Armoni Weaver-Bomar WR #25 | 3 REC, 67 YDS, 1 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Isaiah Patterson LB #16 | 37 |
| Kamari Wilson S #8 | 30 | |
| Ben Cutter LB #15 | 28 | |
| Sacks | Ashton Woods LB #33 | 2 |
| Nate Gabriel DL #93 | 2 | |
| Ben Cutter LB #15 | 1 | |
| Interceptions | Kamari Wilson S #8 | 1 |
| Ashton Woods LB #33 | 1 | |
| Isaiah Patterson LB #16 | 1 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster
pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.