By: Clark Johnson | WV Sports Chat
Morgantown, WV – To say that the 2025 season did not go as planned for WVU Football would be an understatement. In the first year of Rich Rodriguez’s second stint, the Mountaineers finished with a 4-8 record overall, including 2-7 in Big 12 play. This led to yet another massive roster overhaul for the program in hopes of righting the ship, sooner rather than later.
With so many new pieces in 2026, it is hard to get a read on what fans should expect from the 2026 Mountaineers. Inevitably, there are more unknowns than knowns at this point in time. This is a results based business, however, meaning that fans and the university will expect improvement next fall, no matter what.
Just how much improvement is sufficient is up for debate, though.
Each program around the nation has their own definition of “success.” For Rodriguez, anything short of championship-level football is not good enough. But is that a sensible expectation going into year two of a massive rebuild? Not exactly.
To have what would be deemed a “successful” 2026 season, the Mountaineers need to focus on one thing – improving their win-total. While fans will want winning ways from 2005-2007 to return this year, that is simply not feasible right now. Instead, bowl eligibility should be used as a measure for success.
In today’s college football, it is easy to look at Indiana and expect your program to experience a similar turnaround. Though it is certainly possible, the case of Cignetti and the Hoosiers is an anomaly. The majority of programs take several years to become competitive at a national level. For the Mountaineers, this will be the case.
Reaching the postseason will indicate that the WVU Football program is heading in the right direction under Rodriguez. This would not only give the program an extra game for experience, but more practice time and another national television audience. Win the bowl game, and it could even be used as a spring board going into the 2027 season.
Small steps as a program, not giant leaps. That’s what it will take for the West Virginia Mountaineers to become nationally relevant again.
(Photo by WVU Athletics)
