The West Virginia Mountaineers are 1-0 after a relatively dominant Week 1 victory over Robert Morris. However, as much as we learned from the team's first outing of the season, there's still plenty we didn't learn. Let's take a look at some unanswered questions for WVU football after Saturday's win.
1. What is the ceiling for the offensive line and how quickly can they get there?
There certainly wasn’t anything glaringly wrong with the performance of the West Virginia offensive line in Week 1, but we didn’t learn that much either against Robert Morris. Marchiol had a clean pocket in a nearly perfect day, converting on 17 of his 20 pass attempts. West Virginia was able to run for 393 yards and five touchdowns on 53 carries. Certainly, the offensive line created holes for ball-carriers to run through, but how this will translate against stiffer competition remains to be seen.
West Virginia’s next opponent will be on Saturday, September 6, as they visit the Ohio Bobcats, who are coming off a 34-31 loss to Rutgers. This should prove to be a more viable test for the WVU offensive line.
2. Who is going to be the primary backup to Jahiem White?
Jahiem White’s season is off to a great start. He scored his first two touchdowns of the season while collecting 93 yards on 18 carries. 2025 Tommy Nickolich Award winner Clay Ash and Cyncir Bowers each got a few carries, but nothing they displayed on Saturday showcased one as the true second-string back for WVU. Tye Edwards and Diore Hubbard are both expected to contribute this season as well, but didn't get any carries against RMU.
Regardless of whether or not one individual steps up to be the primary backup or if it is several of these players splitting carries, Rodriguez is going to have to find a way to find Jahiem White some rest this season.
3. When will Zac Alley deploy his multi-faceted defensive looks?
With a Robert Morris offense that struggled mightily, there was not a great need for WVU Defensive Coordinator Zac Alley to adapt and adjust his game plan. Understandably so, Alley did not have to come up with a variety of different looks defensively. This is a positive in a sense in that it does not put much on film for the upcoming game with Ohio. However, Alley is known for his variety and unique looks on the defensive side of the ball, so exactly when he decides to break out a little more spice on the defensive side of the ball and what it looks like remains to be seen.