Big 12 · Rich Rodriguez, year 2 (6-8) · Milan Puskar Stadium · 60,000 · 50,603 avg in 2026
LastW 52–7 vs UT Martin · Sat Sep 12 · Michael Hawkins Jr. 155 pass yds, 2 TD, 96 rush yds
Nextvs Virginia · Sat Sep 19 · 7:30 pm ET · Bank of America Stadium · Virginia by 10 · series 9-12-1, lost the last 3 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 5 | #182 | #231 | -21✗ | Coastal Carolina | W 31–24 139 | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| 2 | Sep 12 | #190 | #155 | -41.5✓ | UT Martin | W 52–7 133 | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Sep 19 | #168 | #51 | +10 | Virginia (N) | |||
| 4 | Sep 26 | #166 | #231 | Oklahoma State | ||||
| 5 | Oct 3 | @Iowa State | ||||||
| 6 | Oct 10 | Arizona | ||||||
| 7 | Oct 17 | Cincinnati | ||||||
| 8 | Oct 24 | @TCU | ||||||
| 10 | Nov 7 | @Texas Tech | ||||||
| 11 | Nov 14 | Kansas | ||||||
| 12 | Nov 21 | Houston | ||||||
| 13 | Nov 28 | @Utah |
| Date | Opp | Result | Yds | TO | TOP | EPA/play | Success% | Explosive% | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | UT Martin | W 52–7 | 525 | 1 | 25:16 | +0.454 | 55.6% | 135.5% | |
| Sep 5 | Coastal Carolina | W 31–24 | 413 | 1 | 32:56 | +0.125 | 41.6% | 101.8% | |
| Season average (2 games) | 469 | 1.0 | +0.290 | 48.6% | 118.6% | ||||
West Virginia is an entire state's only big-time team, and it just hired back the coach who broke its heart in 2007 and bolted — Rich Rodriguez, home in Morgantown to finish what the Backyard Brawl interrupted.
Mountaineer fans are tired of their state's only major team being treated as an afterthought, a hard place to recruit, a name from the past. They say Morgantown is the loudest Saturday nobody outside…
The season in chapters
What fans said
Real posts from the day of the game, chosen by community score · usernames not shown
What it is like to watch them2025 · 4-8 · last season
✓ measured from 12 games · ranks are among Big 12 teams the same season
Recent form · last 10 games · incl. 2025
Mixed. 4-6 over the last 10, and won the last two.
The penalties, we gave up long drives, lost contain, the offense wasn’t moving the ball, so we’ve got a lot to work on. I’m proud of the guys, and the way they came out, but the second half was embarrassing. We’ll get that fixed.
Next Sep 19
vs Virginia · neutral site
✓ fact on line · ~ our read on style
Market outlook
Sportsbook consensus · best odds across multiple books · 2026-09-14
the open questiondoes the recruiting haul translate on the field?
Rich Rodriguez's first class at West Virginia is the program's highest-ranked haul since 2022 — but with 16% QB production returning, it's the most extreme rebuild in a state where.
our readfront page
Rich Rodriguez's second consecutive top-20 portal class arrives with Michael Hawkins Jr. (QB) to fix 16% returning QB production — a lifeline for West Virginia's only Power-5 show in a state hungry for wins.
our readdeveloping
Michael Hawkins Jr. (QB) arrives at West Virginia as Rich Rodriguez's first major portal move, addressing 16% QB production returning in a state where Morgantown is the only Power-5 show.
our readfront page
Rich Rodriguez begins his tenure at West Virginia with a 4-8 losing record, inheriting a lower-tier program in a state with no other Power-5 team to anchor its identity.
our readbackground
Diore Hubbard sees a real spike in usage once the game is out of reach, and his efficiency in competitive snaps sits below the position baseline -- the numbers lean on the opponent giving up.
our readdeveloping
Cam Vaughn is a real deep-ball threat -- a high share of his targets come on throws past the sticks.
our readbackground
Cam Vaughn: a garbage time merchant signal screened this season.
our readbackground
Cyncir Bowers: a closer signal screened this season.
our readbackground
Diore Hubbard: a closer signal screened this season.
our readbackground
Rodney Gallagher is used almost exclusively underneath -- a low share of his targets are downfield shots.
our readbackground
Outcome band · West Virginia · 2026
Floor, base and ceiling come from the season-path projection, which plays out conference title games and the CFP — so a ceiling can run past 12 games.
West Virginia signed a top-25 recruiting class. It is a top-3 recruiting class in the Big 12. A class in the top 25 means the program competed nationally. Attrition and development are the next story. National coverage is split on what the ranking actually signals for this program.
The off-field storyline driving the noise right now. Not analysis — the soap opera, and that's the point.
The optimistic read: the class is real, the program is a destination again.
The 'rankings don't tell the whole story' counter -- development gaps, position holes still open.
This event was in 76 of 2226 board posts (3%) over the last 60 days — engaged but not consumed. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
Board health this week (264 posts): 17% positive · 44% neutral · 39% negative. Team-level weekly mood — not specific to this event. The boards ≠ the fanbase: a self-selected vocal slice.
West Virginia signed a top-30 transfer-portal class — 34 additions headlined by Michael Hawkins Jr. (QB) from Oklahoma and Geimere Latimer (CB) from Wisconsin. It is second consecutive top-20 portal class. Portal pickups don't redshirt. The coverage sees this as a targeted, ready-to-contribute class built for snap competition, not depth-chart filler. The coverage reads this as a credible, targeted haul.
The 'portal class fills the gaps' believers -- upgrades at real positions of need.
The 'portal is a gamble' counter -- departure losses and the 'plug-and-play doesn't work' read.
Nothing in our corpus yet — this door stays open for when there is.
This event was in 50 of 2226 board posts (2%) over the last 60 days — engaged but not consumed. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
Board health this week (264 posts): 17% positive · 44% neutral · 39% negative. Team-level weekly mood — not specific to this event. The boards ≠ the fanbase: a self-selected vocal slice.
Fan mood index · most recent r/cfb data
More in this tab
West Virginia is the state's program — there's no other Power-5 football team in the entire state — and that geographic monopoly makes Morgantown the loudest Saturday in the Big 12.
The program ledger
since 2025Cam Vaughn dismissed from Miami
Cook's on the Walter Camp watchlist and Rodriguez still needed more — Vaughn's dismissal from Miami adds a live body to a Big 12 RB room that's been carrying real depth pressure all spring.
WVU updates depth chart for UT Martin
Rodriguez's first real depth chart decision point — RB pressure is real with a top-25 class still settling in, and how he slots the backfield against UT Martin tells you more about this rebuild than any press conference.
WVU depth chart released with open spots
Open spots still staring back at you on RodRod's first official two-deep — a top-25 class closes some gaps, but the RB room pressure is the storyline that doesn't resolve itself on paper.
Hearing date set for eligibility
Eligibility hearing dates don't spike in a vacuum — at RB, Rodriguez needs bodies cleared before fall camp answers the depth chart questions SI and 247 already flagged.
WVU depth chart projection released
Rodriguez's first depth chart out and RB is the one room a top-25 class hasn't fully solved yet — that pressure spot is where the rebuild either holds or cracks in Year One.
Oliver Straw seeks extra eligibility year
RichRod's RB room was already thin enough that Torbor's inexperience was a headline — Straw buying back a year keeps depth from becoming a crisis before camp breaks.
Top 3 commits
Recruiting Footprint · 2026
FL leads the 2026 class with 5 commits. National footprint reaching 25 states.
Where they recruit · 2023-2026
129 signees across 31 states, 2023-2026. OH leads the pull.
Miles from home · 2026 roster
The median West Virginia player grew up 484 miles from campus.
Half this roster came from closer than that; half came from farther.
Straight-line distance from each player's listed hometown to Milan Puskar Stadium. Hometowns are placed at city-centroid precision, not street address — fine at this scale, but a player's true door-to-door number can differ by a few miles. 110 of 121 listed players have a geocoded hometown. Source: CFBD roster hometowns.
Top community posts · last 12 months · r/cfb
Fan confidence in a typical range for this program right now
34th percentile among FBS programs
The flags have favored them: 16 penalties drawn on opponents vs. 9 committed, 40 yards to the good.
79 penalty yards committed vs. 119 drawn on opponents, 2026 season total.
Outcome band · West Virginia · 2026
Recruiting Footprint · 2026