Louisville vs. West Virginia

Louisville and West Virginia have 13 meetings on file, the first in 1984; West Virginia leads the series 10–⁠3 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s West Virginia 7–⁠3.

Louisville wins
3
West Virginia wins
10
Ties
0
Earliest on file
1984
Longest streak
4 West Virginia
Current streak
1 Louisville
Last 10 meetings
West Virginia 7–⁠3
Most recent
2011

The series at a glance

Every meeting by decade, colored by the winner
’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1980s0–⁠4
1990s1–⁠1
2000s1–⁠4
2010s1–⁠1
Both ranked
2 meetings: Louisville 1, West Virginia 1; 1 both in the top 10
Average margin
11.5 points; 7 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At Louisville
1–⁠4 Louisville’s record at home
At West Virginia
6–⁠2 West Virginia’s record at home

Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.

Games that tell the story

  1. Louisville’s biggest win2006: Louisville 44, West Virginia 34by 10 points
  2. West Virginia’s biggest win1985: West Virginia 52, Louisville 13by 39 points
  3. Upset2011: Louisville 38, West Virginia 35Louisville had a 29% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  4. Ranked showdown2006: Louisville 44, West Virginia 34No. 3 West Virginia at No. 5 Louisville
  5. Ranked showdown1993: West Virginia 36, Louisville 34No. 17 Louisville at No. 24 West Virginia

Coach against coach

YearsLouisvilleSeriesWest Virginia
1985–⁠1993Howard Schnellenberger1–⁠4Don Nehlen

Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Louisville’s side (Schnellenberger 1–⁠4 against Nehlen). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.

Both programs through the years

End-of-season Elo ratings of Louisville and West Virginia, 1984 on1300150017001990200020102020

Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.

Stars of the series

Biggest days

Geno Smith West Virginia31 of 44, 410 yards, 3 TD2011 Passing
Steve Slaton West Virginia31 carries, 188 yards, 5 TD2005 Rushing

Biggest days: the week’s best individual games by our big-days rule, from box scores (2004 on).

Every game

Nov 5, 2011Louisville 38, 24West Virginia 35at West Virginia
Nov 20, 2010West Virginia 17, Louisville 10at Louisville
Nov 7, 2009West Virginia 17, Louisville 9at West Virginia
Nov 22, 2008West Virginia 35, Louisville 21at Louisville
Nov 8, 20076West Virginia 38, Louisville 31at West Virginia
Nov 2, 20065Louisville 44, 3West Virginia 34at Louisville
Oct 15, 2005West Virginia 46, 19Louisville 44at West Virginia
Oct 9, 199324West Virginia 36, 17Louisville 34at West Virginia
Sep 22, 1990Louisville 9, West Virginia 7at West Virginia
Sep 23, 19899West Virginia 30, Louisville 21at Louisville
Nov 15, 1986West Virginia 42, Louisville 19at Louisville
Sep 7, 1985West Virginia 52, Louisville 13at West Virginia
Sep 8, 1984West Virginia 30, Louisville 6at West Virginia

Every game is listed as played on the field.