Wheeling, W. Va. - In their 2026 Mountain East Conference (MEC) opener, the Wheeling University Football team (2-2, 1-0) picked up a thrilling come from behind victory over Fairmont State. After taking a week to recover during their bye week, Wheeling looks to build on their momentum as they head on the road to face West Virginia Wesleyan with kick-off at 1 PM. After playing at home in three of their first four weekends, the Cardinals will now look to take that momentum on the road in a heavy road month in October.
Two weeks ago, Wheeling finished up their early season home stretch when they welcomed in Fairmont State for their MEC opener. Both teams were feeling each other out early in the game, before the Falcons broke through with a field goal to open the game. Wheeling would respond with a touchdown to end the first quarter, and would take a 14-3 lead into the final five minutes of the second quarter. Fairmont State would find the endzone one more time before half, but the Cardinals were staked to a 14-10 lead. However, Fairmont State continued to roll in the third quarter, scoring 21 unanswered points to take a 24-14 advantage. With the Cardinals down by 10, Landon Lutz would open the door in the fourth quarter, finding Colin Oberdick on a five-yard strike, before running in the game winner from seven yards out to give Wheeling the 28-24 win.
It was the capper of what was a big day for Lutz, who played a part in each of the four Cardinal touchdowns on the day. In the passing game, he would finish 14-26, throwing for 211 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while adding nine carries for 34 yards and two touchdowns in the ground game. They were the first two rushing touchdowns for Lutz this season, extending his team lead to eight total touchdowns for the season. He has established himself as one of the top passers in the MEC this season, sitting second with 909 passing yards, while being the third most efficient quarterback with a 57.7% completion percentage. He has thrown for 200 yards or more in each of his four games this season, and looks to continue to lead the Cardinal offense through the rest of their MEC schedule.
On the defensive side, the Cardinal's leader has been Jalen Higginbotham, who is coming off back-to-back MEC Defensive Player of the Week honors. He set a new career-high in tackles for the second week in a row against Fairmont State, finishing with 17.0 total tackles, six solo and 11 assisted, and one tackle for loss. He currently sits third in the conference with 40 total tackles on the season, while leading the conference with 24 assisted tackles. Another key to the Cardinal's success on defense has been Dillon Shadie, who put together another strong performance. He would finish with nine total tackles against the Falcons, three solo and six assisted, to lead the defensive secondary. He is already on a career-best pace 29.0 total tackles, while sitting tied for second on the team with two pass break-ups.
As the Cardinals turn the calendar to October, they will face a heavy road schedule throughout the month. After being at home for three of the first four weeks, Wheeling flips the script heading on the road for four of their next five games. It starts in Buckhannon, West Virginia, with a West Virginia Wesleyan team that is much improved from a year ago. They are coming off a road loss to Frostburg State, but sit 1-1 in MEC play through the first two weeks. On their home field, the Bobcats are 1-1, opening the season with a 31-13 win over Post before falling to Shippensburg 24-14 in week two. The Cardinals played well on the road a season ago, going 4-2 away from Bishop Schmitt Field and they will look to get their first road win of the season on Saturday.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Bobcats are meeting for the seventh time in program history, with Wheeling leading the all-time series at 5-1. It will be the team's fourth trip to Buckhannon, West Virginia, where they hold a 2-1 record in three previous meetings, compared to a 3-0 record when hosting the Bobcats. Wheeling has won each of the last five meetings between the two teams, while averaging 40.67 points per game through the first six meetings.
The last meeting between the two programs came on October 4, 2025, in a game that Wheeling would win 40-14. Leading the offense was former Cardinal Ade Olanegan, who finished 16-26, throwing for 234 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. His top target was Colin Oberdick, who finished with four catches for 71 yards and a touchdown, while Dawuan Green led the ground attack with nine carries for 60 yards. On the defensive side, former Cardinal Kameron Reynolds led the way with 12 tackles, six solo and six assisted.
The Details
Kick-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 PM inside Cebe Ross Field on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan College. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live stats by clicking HERE.
