CBS Sports Analyst Joins Growing List of Doubters Picking WVU to Finish Last in Big 12

Another day, another analyst predicting a last-place finish for the Mountaineers in 2025.

WVU Spring Football 2025 | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

If you haven't warmed up to the feeling of West Virginia being picked to finish dead last in the Big 12 Conference this football season, you might want to start to. College football analysts across the country are going to peg the Mountaineers toward the bottom of the league, and if we're being honest, it's hard to blame them.

Rich Rodriguez has 72 new players on the roster, meaning there are just a couple of returning starters from last year's team. Now, if you want to flip it and look at it the other way, it could be a good thing. WVU went 6-7 last season, lacked an identity on both sides of the ball, and didn't find any answers on defense. So, perhaps a brand new roster isn't the worst thing in the world.

CBS Sports' Bud Elliott became the latest to pencil in the Mountaineers in the 16th spot in his preseason Big 12 poll, finishing behind Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma State, and UCF.

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Let’s discuss pic.twitter.com/D8gUaJ8I01

— Bud Elliott (@BudElliott3) July 9, 2025

When it comes to the bottom tier of this league, in all reality, it doesn't matter. If you're bad, you're bad. But that being said, it is hard for me to grasp UCF being ahead of WVU. They're in a similar situation with a new coaching staff, a bunch of transfers, and so on, but are still trying to get acclimated to the Big 12. The Mountaineers may have a rough first year under Rodriguez, but finishing dead last? Unlikely.

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