West Virginia Shocks No. 25 Virginia in Charlotte

West Virginia trailed by seven points twice in the first quarter and never let it rattle them. The Mountaineers beat No. 25 Virginia 38-27 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Saturday. It was the program's biggest win in a season three games old, a statement on a neutral field against a ranked team.

Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. was the reason it never got out of hand. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns. He ran 18 times for 123 yards and three more scores. Five total touchdowns, in just his third career start running the West Virginia offense.

Virginia struck first, Jekail Middlebrook capping the opening drive with an 8-yard run. Hawkins answered immediately with a touchdown of his own, and Xavier Brown broke a 47-yard run to put the Cavaliers back up 14-7. That was as comfortable as Virginia would get all night.

West Virginia scored the game's next two touchdowns, a 29-yard catch by DJ Epps and a short Hawkins run, to take a 21-14 lead into halftime.

Virginia answered back. Facing fourth down deep in West Virginia territory in the third quarter, Beau Pribula found receiver Rico Flores Jr. for a 26-yard gain to keep the drive alive, and Middlebrook caught a short touchdown pass shortly after to tie the game at 21.

From there, West Virginia took the game over. Epps caught his second touchdown, a 21-yard score, and Hawkins added a 5-yard touchdown run of his own to make it 35-21. Cam Cook ground out 123 yards on 30 carries to keep the clock moving. Jack Cassidy's 21-yard field goal pushed the lead to 38-21 before Virginia's John Rogers scored on the final drive to make it 38-27.

The Mountaineers finished with 437 total yards to Virginia's 354. Pribula was sharp for Virginia, going 21 of 33 for 197 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. But he was sacked three times, West Virginia's defense leaning on him exactly when it mattered.

That defense was the quieter story. A week earlier, after West Virginia nearly let a big lead slip away against Coastal Carolina in the opener, the staff made no secret it wanted more discipline late in games. In Charlotte, the Mountaineers got it, including a fourth-quarter sack from Geimere Latimer II that forced a fourth-down stop at the Virginia 21 and set up Cassidy's field goal.

"Our guys kept plugging in there, and I thought in the fourth quarter we made some really key stops," head coach Rich Rodriguez said afterward.

It was the 197th win of Rodriguez's career and his 23rd over a ranked opponent, numbers that matter less to him right now than a 3-0 start, West Virginia's best since 2018.

"Mike is a dynamic player, and I think he's going to keep getting better," Rodriguez told reporters of his quarterback. "He's electric."