Mountaineer Pride: Breaking down WVU’s 2026 expectations
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The 2025 season had highs and lows, but looking at it as a whole, it was a lot of lows. A 4-8 record with just two Big 12 wins wasn't on the fans’ bingo card when Rich Rodriguez was hired in the winter of 2024.
Fans remembered the glory days for the Mountaineers led by West Virginia's own, Rich Rodriguez. They remember Pat White juking defenders or Steve Slaton stiff-arming and running guys over. They remember the four-straight years of bowl games, and when WVU was ranked numerous times in the top 5 of the AP Poll.
Rodriguez thought he knew the lay of the land when he returned, and in some ways, thought he'd have success, especially after winning the Backyard Brawl against Pitt in overtime.
Rodriguez got on the ESPN microphone and said the "West Virginia Mountaineers never quit."
He knew where the traps were laid -- he said multiple times before the 2025 season.
That attitude changed this offseason, coming off one of the worst seasons in the history of the program.
"I knew where they were and still got tripped up by them," Rodriguez said.
Looking back at the 2025 roster and the state of the program, it was hard to see any success. The team had the most transfers in college football, an entirely new staff and scheme. It'd need an Indiana miracle for everything to go well.
For the 2026 season, Rodriguez is taking a different approach to roster construction. If you zoom out, it might look similar. There are 70-plus new players again, and when the team takes the field in September, good luck knowing any of the names. But the content of the roster is what changed.
Most of the new players are freshman or JUCO players. Rodriguez is starting over and laid a strong foundation for long-term success. He brought in one of the highest-rated recruiting classes in recent history, which included big-time recruits, legacy 4-star offensive lineman Kevin Brown, 4-star running back Amari Latimer and 4-star two-way star Matt Sieg. The JUCO players aren't anything to pass over either. He added two of the top JUCO receivers.
A majority of those players won't make an impact right away. Rodriguez knew that, and with all the graduations, he went transfer portaling. He hit the portal with intent, looking for more size and athleticism, which was lacking in 2025, then talented young players he can coach to be stars, and veterans with multiple games of college experience.
The crown jewel of the portal class was running back Cam Cook from Jacksonville State. Cook led the nation in rushing in 2025 and carried the ball a ton. He's the perfect back for Rodriguez's run-heavy tempo offense.
Saquon Barkley couldn't do anything on the New York Giants because he didn't have a good offensive line. To help Cook, Rodriguez improved the bad offensive line from 2025, picking up multiple 300-pound linemen, and hired legendary offensive line coach Rick Trickett. Defensive coordinator Zac Alley added a lot of experience and size at all three levels, too.
The roster is definitely improved top to bottom.
"There’s so much more competition," Rodriguez said after the offseason. "I think true competition in every position is something that all coaches want to have, and I think we truly have that from a player standpoint."
Now, it's putting a better product on the field. You can have all the stars and transfers on paper, but it doesn't mean anything if they don't produce on the field.
Rodriguez is already feeling the impatience from fans after the 4-8 year, with multiple lopsided losses in the Big 12.
"We know there’s urgency in our fans, and there’s urgency when people want us to do well, and I appreciate that," Rodriguez said. "And we got to have a greater sense of urgency in this program to get it right."
Luckily, Rodriguez's second-year schedule is favorable. The Mountaineers face four first-year head coaches and dodge a game against BYU this season. WVU also has Kansas and Cincinnati at home, who were two teams hovering around .500 last year, creating winnable games.
Even with the softer schedule and better roster, the media and bookmakers don't think too highly of Rodriguez's squad. The Mountaineers have the fourth-worst odds to win the Big 12, and the win total line is set at 5.5, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. WVU was picked 13th in the USA Today preseason Big 12 poll.
“I told the team there’s not a lot of people predicting us to not do very well, and I hope that’s motivation," Rodriguez said. "It should be motivation when people are picking last or next to last.”
Finishing 13th in the conference after finishing 14th last year and six wins might not meet fans’ expectations. But what sticks in fans’ minds is what Rodriguez said at the start of spring practice this year -- championships. If that's what fans think, they'll be disappointed. A step in the right direction is a better goal.
"In this day and age, you don't want to lose big and lose close, because that's two years of losing," Rodriguez said in the spring. "If you lose big, like we lost big, you'd better at least win close now, right? But it's challenging.”