Wheeling, W. Va. – After being on the road for the first two weeks of October, the Wheeling University Football team (3-3, 2-1) comes back home to Bishop Schmitt Field for Homecoming & Family Weekend. The Cardinals will welcome in friends, family, and alumni for a weekend of celebration when they take on West Virginia State with kick-off at noon. After taking their first conference loss a week ago, the Cardinals are looking to bounce back and stay alive in the race for the 2026 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Football Championship.
Last time out, the Cardinals hit the road to take on The University of Charleston in a battle of two unbeaten teams in conference play. After trading scores early on, Charleston would control the first half, getting out to a 28-3 advantage with 4:10 remaining before the halftime break. The Cardinals were looking to grab some momentum, and got some when O'Marion Taylor plunged into the end zone from one yard out to send the game into halftime with the Cardinals trailing 28-10. After making some halftime adjustments, the Cardinals came out and scored on their opening possession of the second half and cut the Golden Eagle lead to 28-17. It began a quarter that would see the Cardinals outscore Charleston 25-14, getting to within seven points of the Golden Eagles with 1:54 to play. However, the comeback effort fell just short as Wheeling dropped a 42-35 contest that moved them to 2-1 in MEC play.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Landon Lutz, who finished 25-43, throwing for 356 yards and three touchdowns on the day. All three of those touchdowns would come during the team's second half comeback, while the 336 yards passing was a career-high for the graduate student. He was able to spread the ball around throughout the afternoon, hitting seven different receivers, with three of those receivers finishing with 50 or more yards. Lutz has been one of the top passers in the MEC this season, sitting second in the conference with 1441 yards passing, while holding the fifth highest quarterback efficiency at 125.6. with the effort, he became the first Cardinal quarterback in program history to reach the 5,000 career passing yard mark for his career and he continues to set the bar for Cardinal Quarterbacks now and in the future.
His top receiver on the day was Mateo Crummel, who finished with a career-best four catches for 109 yards. Although he did not have a touchdown on the day, He was an explosive receiver that helped move the Cardinals down field and set up some big scores. It was a 45 yard catch by Crummel that go the Cardinals inside the Golden Eagle's ten yard line, leading to the eventual score that made it 28-10 heading to the halftime break. On the defensive end, Dillon Shadie led the effort for the Cardinals, finishing with the lone takeaway in the effort. He would lead the team with 10 total tackles, eight solo and two assisted, while finishing with the lone interception in the effort. His interception would come late in the fourth quarter, and set the Cardinals up for one of their two fourth quarter touchdowns as they tried to complete the comeback.
As they enter the final five-week stretch of the regular season, the Cardinals are locked in a battle for the top spot in the MEC. They currently sit one game behind both West Liberty and the University of Charleston for the conference lead, with those two teams set the square off this weekend. After taking a loss to the golden eagles last week, a win by West Liberty would position Wheeling right back at contention for the MEC football. Crown. Wheeling gets a break from their seemingly month-long road trip on Saturday, coming back to Bishop Smithfield for the first time since September 19. Head Coach Zac Bruney And his team continue to focus on one week at a time and going 1-0 each week in their pursuit of the ultimate goal of a championship.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Yellow Jackets are meaning for the fifth time in program history, with Wheeling leading the all-time series at 3-1. It will be West Virginia state's third trip to Bishop Smithfield, with Wheeling holding a 2-1 record at home and a 1-0 record when they go out to Institute, West Virginia. It has been a high scoring series for the Cardinals, with the team averaging 22 points per game against the Yellow Jackets, with Wheeling having scored 20 or more points in each of the last three meetings between the teams.
The last meeting between the two programs came on October 18, 2025 In a game that Wheeling would win 24-20. It would be Landon Lutz leading the way with 245 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. In the passing game he finished 20-36 while throwing for 196 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 49 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. Steven Mitchell would lead the ground game carrying the ball 12 times for 53 yards, while Colin Oberdick was the top Target with six catches for 55 yards and a touchdown. Former Cardinal Jefferson Bretanys-Desca would lead the defensive effort with 13 total tackles.
The Details
Kickoff for Saturday's homecoming game is scheduled for noon inside Bishop Smithfield. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with live stats by clicking HERE.
