Big Question Marks Holding WVU Back in CBS Sports' Big 12 Power Rankings

With so many new faces, it's hard for anyone to gauge how good the Mountaineers will be in 2025.

WVU Athletics Communication

Expectations surrounding the West Virginia Mountaineers are fairly low heading into the 2025 season, and rightfully so. Rich Rodriguez did a near-complete flip of the roster this offseason and has just a couple of players returning with starting experience.

With a QB battle that will spill over into fall camp, five new starters on the offensive line, a revamped wide receiver room, and a virtually brand new defense, there are more question marks than the Mountaineers have had entering any season in recent memory.

Those uncertainties have caused West Virginia to land at No. 12 in CBS Sports' post-spring Big 12 power rankings.

"The Mountaineers underwent one of the biggest roster reconstructions in the country, with 51 departures to the transfer portal. Luckily, running back Jahiem White should be a perfect fit in coach Rich Rodriguez's offense," Shehan Jeyarajah noted. "After that, though, things get interesting. Defensive coordinator Zac Alley was a major poach from Oklahoma, and he should get the defense right… eventually. Will it be in 2025?"

The four teams that check in behind the Mountaineers? Houston, Arizona, Oklahoma State, and UCF. They'll face two of those teams - Houston and UCF - in a span of three weeks in the middle of the season. The three teams that reside at the top of Jeyarajah's power rankings - Arizona State, Texas Tech, and BYU - are all on WVU's slate.

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