West Virginia football ends brutal eight-year drought in commanding win over UT-Martin

Normally, an early September win over an FCS opponent probably won’t mean a ton to fans of a Power 4 program. But in Week 2, West Virginia’s absolutely dominant victory over UT-Martin was an important milestone of the Rich Rodriguez era.

Rodriguez is in his second season back in charge of the program, after former head coach Neal Brown held the role for six seasons. But the last time the Mountaineers managed to open their season 2-0 was way back in 2018, during the Dana Holgorsen era. Now, after wins against UT-Martin andCoastal Carolinato start the year, that depressing droughthas finally come to an end.

Rich Rodriguez ends sad WVU football streak from Neal Brown era

Now, it's hard to blame everything on Neal Brown. After all, he was dealt a tough schedule front-loaded with Power 4 opponents during most of his tenure with the Mountaineers. And of course, Rodriguez had an opportunity to end the drought last season during his first year back with the program, but an upset loss on the road to Ohio prevented that.

But now, that streak is over, and it probably can’t be overstated how important that is for the Mountaineers. In terms of the opponents that West Virginia beat, it doesn’t mean a ton – after all, the Skyhawks are an FCS team, and Coastal Carolina is a Group of 6 opponent with a first-year head coach.

But the morale boost for the staff, players, and fan base offered by a 2-0 start is a big deal, and should help generate some momentum and interest headed into a neutral-site, non-conference showdown with Top 25 opponent Virginia in Week 3 – who also opened the season 2-0. Hopefully, the Mountaineers can make it three consecutive wins to start the season in Charlotte next weekend.

Add us as a preferred source onGoogle

Follow