The West Virginia Mountaineers saw Rich Rodriguez return to the sidelines as head coach of the program last year for the first time since the 2007 season. Rodriguez, who led the program from 2001-2007 and oversaw what is generally considered the most successful stretch in program history during his final three seasons, would have a rough start to his second tenure, with the Mountaineers finishing just 4-8.
Now, after another offseason roster overhaul, the Mountaineers are preparing for another season. And if WVU football's second Rich Rodriguez experiment is to be trusted, there are certain things that need to change next year.
How Rich Rodriguez can prove the West Virginia Mountaineers are trending upward in 2026
1. Player Development
There aren't a ton of players returning from last season's roster – just 31, to be exact. But the Mountaineers need to see those players end up better than they were last season.
Scotty Fox Jr. must be a better passer and better decision-maker during Week 1 in 2026 than he was during Week 14 in 2025. The same goes for Nick Krahe and Landen Livingston when it comes to blocking, for Ben Cutter at linebacker, and so on.
You also want to see those players better in the final week this season than they were at the beginning of the year, which wasn't always something that could be said for the Mountaineers last year.
Was Kimo Makane'ole a better guard at the end of 2025 than at the beginning? Or was Fred Perry more disciplined at the end of the year on the defensive side of the ball? That's debatable, and it can't be the same this year.
2. Close, competitive games
The Mountaineers lost eight games in 2025, and four of those losses came by a margin of 30 points or more. Now, sometimes you're just going to be outmatched. It does happen, especially as the program looks to rebuild from where it was left over the six seasoons before Rodriguez took over.
But four 30+ point losses is a tough pill to swallow in any situation, and those types of losses can't happen with that type of frequency next year if fans are going to buy into the idea that WVU is headed in the right direction. Good teams are at least competitive in their losses.
You saw this issue rectified a bit more later in the year as WVU dropped games to top-tier Big 12 teams in Arizona State and TCU by a combined eight points, and to be fair, the blowout loss against Texas Tech was par for the course for many opponents of the Red Raiders this past year, who were a College Football Playoff team. But another 30-point loss in Week 4 in what is thought to be a winnable game simply will not fly again.
3. Making a postseason appearance
I doubt many people are thinking this upcoming iteration of WVU's team will be a conference title or playoff contender, and despite what Curt Cignetti might have you believe, these types of rebuilds often do take a few years.
But the Mountaineers missed a bowl last season, and have only made bowl appearances four times in the seven seasons since Dana Holgorsen left the program. Before that? WVU made the postseason in 16 out of 18 seasons under Holgorsen, Bill Stewart, and Rodriguez during his first stint, with one of those two misses coming in Rodriguez's first year in 2001.
The Mountaineers are a team with postseason expectations, and making it back to a bowl after a 4-8 finish last year does at least show movement in the right direction. The Mountaineers are set up with the perfect schedule for a big run as well, so Rodriguez needs to make it happen.