Looking to continue its recent surge, West Virginia is set to face Arizona State in the road final

Two weeks ago, West Virginia entered a game against nationally ranked Houston with five straight losses and needing to win to avoid an undefeated season.

Winners of two straight games, the Mountaineers are still fighting for bowl eligibility heading into their final road game this season, which takes place Saturday at 1 p.m. in the form of a matchup with Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium.

The competition will be broadcast on TNT.

For WVU, three straight weeks of progress, the last two of which resulted in the team’s only back-to-back wins to date, offer hope of entering a matchup with the defending Big 12 Conference champion. The Mountaineers’ 23-17 home loss to TCU was followed by a 45-35 win over the Cougars and most recently, last Saturday’s 29-22 home triumph over Colorado.

“You would think you would see some difference, but there really hasn’t been much difference in preparation and approach from the beginning of the year until now,” West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez said. “It’s always the same. The results have been better in the last two games, but I’ve said before that when we weren’t winning and so on, I didn’t see any cracks in the wall, I didn’t see any problems with their effort or their focus. Maybe there was a lack of confidence and they’ll have more, but there was never a moment like ‘I don’t like coaching these guys or whatever.’ It’s never been That’s why I’m happy that they had a little success. They worked and will continue to do so.

True freshman quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. will start his fifth straight game at the sport’s most important position against ASU, and Fox’s play has combined with an improved running game to lead to better offensive performances and 74 points over the past two games.

Whether or not that trend continues against Arizona State (6-3, 4-2), it will go a long way in determining whether West Virginia (4-6, 2-5) remains bowl eligible for next week’s regular-season finale against Texas Tech, the sixth-ranked team in the College Football Playoff and one of three Big 12 teams without multiple league losses.

The Sun Devils have only allowed more than 24 points once all season, although they have allowed exactly 24 four times and at least that many in all three losses. ASU has given up an average of 30 points in losses and 20.5 in wins.

“We play good defense,” Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “There are times when we give up explosive plays that hurt us or we get penalties that hurt us on third downs. We get too many penalties on third down. But I’m mostly happy with the way our defense is playing. They’re flying everywhere. Latest [game]they answered the bell several times. We must continue to do this and continue to build on this foundation.

Opposing West Virginia, which operates at a higher rate than any other team in the Big 12, could be a quality matchup for the Sun Devils given that they rank second in the conference in run defense, giving up 123.2 yards per game on the ground. The Sun Devils have also attacked opposing quarterbacks and their 2.7 sacks per game are good for No. 3 in the Big 12.

“They’re really big on the interior defensive line and pretty athletic,” Rodriguez said. “They’ll do some stunts and some plays, but they don’t need to do much. They don’t need to overload you, blitz and play cover 0 to put pressure on the quarterback. They’ve been able to put pressure on by sending four down a few times.”

As for his own quarterback, Jeff Sims will make his second straight start behind center for ASU after rushing for the most yards (228) of any player at that position in program history in his last win in a 24-19 win at Iowa State on Nov. 1.

“We know they’re going to be fresh and excited,” Rodriguez said. “The most important thing after a team has had an open date is they have to be ready for something different from the start. They might do something tricky on special teams or on offense or show you a different front or coverage that they haven’t worked on. You kind of have to be prepared for the things they haven’t shown from a self-scout standpoint, but that would be pretty typical.”

Sims succeeded Sam Leavitt, last year’s Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and the conference’s preseason Offensive Player of the Year in 2025. Leavitt played in seven games but was ruled out for the season with a foot injury, leaving Sims in line for his third start of the year.

“They did a good job tailoring the offense to who he is and utilizing his skills and abilities,” WVU defensive coordinator Zac Alley said. “He’s a good player. He’s tough to get down and he’s big. We’ve got to do a good job of getting him together and getting him down in the running game.”

Sims won’t have the luxury of throwing against one of college football’s best players, as Jordyn Tyson has been ruled out for a third straight game with a hamstring injury.

Like ASU, West Virginia has defended the run better and ranks sixth in the Big 12, allowing 141.4 yards per game on the ground. But between Sims and ASU defensive end Raleek Brown, third in the Big 12 with 770 rushing yards, the Mountaineers’ challenge will be daunting Saturday.

“Running the ball and stopping the run is always a recipe for winning football games,” Dillingham said. “If you can execute and stop it successfully, you will win games more often than not.”