This weekend, the West Virginia Mountaineers will look to improve to 2-0 for the first time since the 2018 season when they host UT Martin from the FCS level.

You may have heard a few times here that West Virginia is a perfect 26-0 against FCS-level teams, but how many of those 26 wins were close calls? Fortunately for Mountaineer fans, not many of them. There are five games that ended in one-score victories and one that was a two-score result.

The first three

1978: WVU 14, Richmond 12
1979: WVU 20, Richmond 18
1980: WVU 31, Richmond 28

The FCS was formed in 1978, and each of West Virginia's first three games against FCS opponents was against the Spiders, who gave them a scare each time. They played them one more time in 1982 and haven't faced them since.

2009: WVU 33, Liberty 20

I wouldn't say this one wasn't exactly a sweat, but it was one of the handful of games that ended in a two-score game or tighter. Jarrett Brown completed 19/26 passes for 243 yards while adding 69 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Noel Devine led the team in rushing with 112 yards and a score. Liberty receiver Mike Brown had himself a day, catching half of the completions (11) that QB Tommy Beecher had on the day, racking up 157 yards and a score. It was 10-10 early in the second quarter, but the Mountaineers put up 13 points in the final 8:44 — a TD and two field goals to create some separation.

2013: WVU 24, William & Mary 17

You had a pretty good idea that the 2013 season was going to be a long one when the Mountaineers were trailing the Tribe at halftime, 17-7. QB Paul Millard actually had a pretty solid day, going 19/25 for 237 yards and a touchdown, and Charles Sims rushed for 120 yards and a score. The defense pitched a shutout in the second half, allowing the offense to find some rhythm and go on to take the lead and ultimately win the game.

2019: WVU 20, James Madison 13

The first game of the Neal Brown era was...a scare. You could say that describes his entire tenure aside from 2023, and I wouldn't disagree. To be fair, JMU was a hell of an FCS program and was not the type of opponent from that level that you wanted to play in your first game. This was before the Dukes made the jump to the FBS and were competing for national championships. Also, Curt Cignetti was on the opposite sideline for this one. JMU led 7-3 at the half, mostly because the Mountaineers could not run the football to save their life. For the game, they finished with 34 yards on 24 carries.