The West Virginia Mountaineers waltzed into Fort Worth on Saturday as double-digit underdogs against TCU. Now, they're entering their bye week with two straight victories, and things feel much better in Morgantown than they did just two weeks ago at this time.
And as we reflect upon that win over the Horned Frogs on Saturday, there is a realization that things were far from perfect for the Mountaineers. But there are also a lot of things to look at that should give fans an optimistic outlook on the final stretch of the season.
You have to give this WVU team and staff a ton of credit. 8 straight games that ended with a road trip to TCU, and we go into the bye week with more wins than we had all of last year and some momentum.
— The Smoking Musket (@smokingmusket) October 24, 2026
Reasons for hope emerge in WVU football's victory against TCU
To start off, the Mountaineers have now topped their win total from last season before the bye week, and they only need one more win to achieve bowl eligibility after missing the postseason last year. Now, you can pretty definitively say that West Virginia has at least show improvement in Rodriguez's second season, and a bowl game is still on the table.
And while West Virginia still have three tough opponents on the final stretch of the schedule, the Mountaineers have a very winnable game against Kansas at home in November that should be able to get them over the bowl hump. And Rich Rodriguez is often good for one upset a season against a top opponent he shouldn't beat – you feel a lot better about that at 5-3 with back-to-back wins.
Perhaps you feel even better about it than you would at 5-3 normally because the Mountaineers will come out of their bye week and face Texas Tech with that extra week of rest and preparation – and the Red Raiders just were embarrassed by Cincinnati in one of the week's biggest upsets. That game seems more winnable now, and Houston also has to come to Morgantown in November.
The Mountaineers also looked much better on defense today. They still gave up a few explosive plays, but in general, they forced the Horned Frogs to drive downfield and earn their scores. TCU did end up putting 482 yards on the stat sheet, but West Virginia came up with several stops in crucial situations. They held the Horned Frogs to just 20 points, the second-least a WVU opponent has had this year, and forced three turnovers.
Of course, TCU isn't a great offensive team. They might be the worst offense West Virginia plays in league play. It often felt like their offense was beating themselves. But West Virginia's defense hadn;t done enough to get stops this season, and they did against TCU. They played around with rotations as well, and had some role players make an outsized impact. That gives you a lot to work with in the bye week.
And even the offense, which didn't perform super well, showed reasons to be happy. West Virginia ran for 186 yards against a TCU defense that allows less than 100 yards per game on the ground. Michael Hawkins Jr. made enough big plays to help keep West Virginia in the game against an elite defense. And West Virginia scored the most points any team has put up against TCU this season.
So, as the Mountaineers enter their bye week looking to get in position for a strong finish against a tough schedule, West Virginia has given a lot of reason for people to feel optimistic entering that final stretch of play.
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