West Virginia fans must face unfortunate reality check after Iowa State loss

Well, despite being hopeful that this conversation could be avoided, here we are.

The West Virginia Mountaineers have lost back-to-back games to open their Big 12 slate, falling to 3-2 overall on the season and remaining winless in the league. And given the nature of the most recent two losses, it might be time to confront a harsh reality check for West Virginia fans.

Why can't West Virginia get over the hump like their peers?

Let's start by saying that this is not a call to fire Rich Rodriguez, or an accusation that he's unable to get the program where it needs to be. But there is a conversation worth having following the most recent two losses.

That's because the Mountaineers lost to Oklahoma State and Iowa State in back-to-back weeks. These are two teams with first-year head coaches, that reportedly currently spend less than West Virginia on their football budget. Meanwhile, West Virginia is in their second season under Rodriguez and are coming off a historic fundraising year. So what gives?

Now, of course, it's easy to point fingers at the defense. Plenty of that is occurring today. Zac Alley's defense has looked bad, and even Rich Rodriguez has been calling it out. Maybe a mid-season change is made on the defensive staff, and things get better. The offense does look pretty damn good.

But if things don't get back on track with some wins quickly, it might pose the question: is there a bigger problem with West Virginia football and the trajectory of the program? After all, Dana Holgorsen had the Mountaineers as a winning program (if not quite as successful if fans would like), but during the Neal Brown era, lots of things changed in college football.

The fact of the matter is that the landscape of the game looks a lot different these days, and West Virginia hasn't had a ton of success since. Maybe the program no longer has the brand recognition, or is unable to put together the resources, to make things work in this era.

Or maybe the problem lies in the fact that something with Rodriguez's approach or his coaching style isn't cut out for the Power 4 level in the modern era. Maybe it's a combination of the former and the latter. There's probably not a great definitive answer right now.

But it's clear that the Mountaineers are struggling to make successful things happen following their most recent coaching change, which was made in the first place because the program was stagnant. And while a lot of people suspect they understand what the problem is, and that a change will be made soon, it's also possible that something deeper is at play.

So if a defensive coaching staff change isn't made, or if it does happen and the Mountaineers still don't get better, it might be face some difficult questions about the Rich Rodriguez era and West Virginia's place in the college football world. And after Saturday's loss, it's time to start ripping that band-aid off now.

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