West Virginia punter Oliver Straw has been the starting punter for four seasons. The most punts he’s ever had were in 2022, when Straw had 49 punts and WVU finished the year 5-7. Just seven games into the season, Straw has punted the ball 40 times. Straw is on pace for almost 70 punts, the most in his career.

Straw’s frequent punting is a sign of what should be done with the 2025 season after the Mountaineers suffered another brutal 45-13 loss to a Big 12 opponent, losing their fourth game in a row. It’s time to do what Straw does almost five times a game: punt on the season.

UCF was a bottom-end Big 12 team that was also looking for its first Big 12 win. The Knights were in a similar situation to WVU, too. There was a new coach and a flood of transfers coming in. There was a lot of turnover. But WVU didn’t even look like it could be in the same league Saturday, giving up 45 points.

“We stunk,” Rich Rodriguez said. “In every phase.”

In a winnable game against UCF, WVU was rolled. That begs the question, what’s left for this season?

WVU is down its top three quarterbacks and running backs and down a top receiver. The offense is hurt with injuries. Now, WVU is starting two young quarterbacks, Khalil Wilkins and Scotty Fox Jr. are rotating back and forth. Both saw reps against UCF and that was a failure. With Wilkins hurt, it looks like true freshman Fox will start.

It’s impossible to win with the revolving door of quarterbacks.

With the injuries and inconsistent QB play, and a load of other factors, WVU is 0-4 in the Big 12 and 2-5 on the season, and lost the last four, making it harder and harder for any bowl game this season. The Mountaineers also have ranked games against Arizona State and Texas Tech on the slate, too, and Houston and TCU, who both received votes.

Before last week, maybe WVU could’ve picked up a win in those games, but the Mountaineers haven’t looked competitive since the win over Pitt. The past four games, WVU has lost by an average of 27 points. That stat is padded by the BYU game, where the Cougars tried everything to give WVU the win.

There are no signs of a win on the horizon, and the season is spiraling. It’s time to look forward to next season.

Starting with the quarterback. At this point, the rest of the season should be used as a quarterback competition between Wilkins and Fox to see if the quarterback for the future is on the roster. There are five games to see if they possibly could be an option for next year; if not, that’s a top priority in the portal.

Then, there’s sifting through the rest of the roster planning for the future. Running Jahiem White should be back, and wide receiver Cam Vaughn looks to be a top receiver for the future. The offensive line needs serious rebuilding, along with most of the defense. There are bright spots in some areas, but not a lot.

Figuring out what you have for next year is what the purpose of the rest of the season should be.

Maybe WVU wins a game, but that’s not the goal anymore. At this point, you’d like to just see if WVU can be competitive in one of these last five games. Maybe against Colorado in a couple of weeks?

Regarding this week, TCU wins by a couple of scores. WVU hasn’t shown anything so far this season, and in the last four games, that can make me feel otherwise. Maybe it being at home makes a difference, but that’s what I thought against Utah, and we all know how that worked out.

Prediction: TCU 31, West Virginia 13