West Virginia-Iowa State Football Game Moved to Thanksgiving Friday

Likely in an effort to put more conference games in prime TV slots and stations, the Big 12 Conference announced today that it has moved the West Virginia-Iowa State football game in Ames, Iowa, to Friday, Nov. 27. The game was originally scheduled for the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

All Big 12 games in week 13 were scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 28, but the conference also moved the Oklahoma State-Texas game in Stillwater, Oklahoma, to Friday. This was a planned move when the conference released its schedule in October of 2019.

WVU will learn TV times and networks for the first three weeks of the season, plus all weekday games on or after June 1, when the networks submit their selections to the Big 12.

This is the second year in a row that the Mountaineers will play on Black Friday. WVU defeated TCU 20-17, in Fort Worth, Texas, in the 2019 finale—which deprived the Horned Frogs bowl eligibility.

After a two year hiatus, the Riot Bowl is back to Thanksgiving weekend; 2020 will be the sixth time the game will be played in the traditional “rivalry week” slot. This will be the second time the Riot Bowl will be played on Black Friday, which has not happened since the first meeting between the Mountaineers and Cyclones on Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, in Morgantown.