July 22, 2005
 
WVU To Host Three Marquee Football Games in 2005
 
By Grant Traylor
Huntington News Network Sportswriter
 
Morgantown, WV (HNN)- West Virginia University released its 2005 football schedule and times Thursday, July 21, 2005, with many interesting contests, including home games with Virginia Tech, Louisville and Pittsburgh.
 
The Mountaineers immediately start the season in Big East play as they travel to Syracuse, New York to take on the Orangemen on Sept. 4 in a Sunday afternoon contest. Kick-off is slated for 1:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.
 
West Virginia will then play Division I-AA Wofford in the home opener on Sept. 10 in a 6 p.m. match-up.
 
On Sept. 17, the Mountaineers will continue their rivalry with ACC foe Maryland at noon in College Park. West Virginia defeated Maryland 19-16 last season in overtime at Mountaineer Field.
 
The Mountaineers then get a pair of non-conference home games in the following weeks for fans to enjoy.
 
Conference USA member East Carolina comes to Morgantown for a noon match-up on Sept. 24.
 
The Mountaineers open up October with a noon contest against former Big East rival and current ACC champion Virginia Tech on Oct. 1.
 
The Hokies defeated WVU 19-13 last season in Blacksburg.
 
The Big East season then gets into full swing for West Virginia as they hit the road to take on Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey. Time for this game is not yet available.
 
Possibly the most anticipated contest of the season is an October 15 match-up with preseason Big East favorite Louisville. The game is also part of Homecoming 2005 festivities at WVU.
 
October 22, the Mountaineers will take their show to Tampa as they play the inaugural Big East match-up with newcomer South Florida. The match-up with the Bulls is West Virginia's last Saturday contest of the regular season.
 
November includes a trio of weeknight primetime nationally televised games for the Mountaineers, starting with Connecticut on Nov 2 at 7:30 p.m.
 
The Wednesday evening contest was also nationally televised last season with West Virginia winning 31-19.
 
One week later, the Mountaineers will again grace ESPN's cameras with a match-up against Cincinnati. The Bearcats, picked to finish last in the Big East, will host the game from Nippert Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 9.
 
The Mountaineers will regroup with an off-week right in time for their own home match-up under the bright lights as the Backyard Brawl goes primetime at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
 
The contest with Pittsburgh is the regular season finale and will definitely have bowl and possibly Big East championship ramifications. Add in bad blood and a rivalry of schools only 80 miles apart and you have yourself a great regular season finale.
 
West Virginia was picked to finish third in the Big East behind Louisville and Pittsburgh, both of which the team meets in Morgantown.