West Virginia fans react as Mountaineers manhandle UT-Martin to end 8-year streak

The West Virginia Mountaineers have officially gotten off on the right foot in the 2026 season.

The Mountaineersare 2-0 for the first time since the 2018 season, ending an eight-year streak with a dominant 2-7 win over the UT-Martin Skyhawks on Saturday. And after a Week 1 win over Coastal Carolina was a close for comfort for most West Virginia fans, the most recent showing by the Mountaineers have those who support the team feeling a bit better headed into Week 3 against Virginia.

WVU football fans thrilled to open season with back-to-back wins

Not everything was perfect for the Mountaineers on Saturday. Despite pitching a defensive shutout (the Skyhawks scored their only touchdown on defense), the Mountaineers gave up over 300 yards to an FCS opponent.

But the Skyhawks never did enough to score offensively. And on the other side of the field, the Mountaineers wereabsolutely dominanton offense themselves, with Mike Hawkins Jr. putting together a four touchdown performance to lead the Mountaineers to over 500 total offensive yards.

Despite a few hiccups, fans online were mostly thrilled at the fact that the Mountaineers ended their eight-season drought and are undefeated headed into the game next week against the Cavaliers. Some folks pointed out that Rodriguez's second season has already eclipsed an important milestone that the Neal Brown era never accomplished in six seasons.

Check out some of the immediate fans reactions below, and let us know in the story comments on social media how you're feeling about the win.

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