CBS Sports Calls Rich Rodriguez's Return to WVU One of the Biggest Stories of 2025

Every year, there are many exciting storylines heading into a new season of college football. This year, West Virginia happens to be among them, thanks to the return of head coach Rich Rodriguez.

CBS Sports' Chip Patterson labeled Rich Rod's return to Morgantown the 19th-best storyline heading into the 2025 season.

"Following in the recent tradition of coaches returning to their alma mater and/or former stops, West Virginia reached out to Rich Rodriguez to arrange a return after a successful stint guiding Jacksonville State from the FCS into Conference USA all the way to a conference title. Rich Rod's return has come with some generational divides (we've almost filled out a punch card with references to TikTok in press conferences) but also the challenges of rebooting a roster in the transfer portal era. The Mountaineers have welcomed more than 50 players in from the transfer portal, and now it's Rodriguez's job to get this group of mercenaries to buy into his brand of football. The nostalgia will be electric, especially with another edition of the Backyard Brawl against Pitt early in the season, but whether the message translates will be a key question to answer when it comes the team's competitiveness in the Big 12."

The first month of the season could be full of WVU talk nationally, especially if they enter the Backyard Brawl undefeated. There's a pretty good chance that ESPN's College GameDay will return to Morgantown for the Brawl, given his return, Pat McAfee's influence, the heated rivalry, and, of course, it being the first Brawl for Rodriguez since that dreadful night in 2007. It's a chance at redemption. If all that happens and the Mountaineers take down Pitt, the Rich Rod train will be overflowing.

Winning the conference and securing a spot in the College Football Playoff are the two main goals every season for every coach in the country. For some, it's more realistic than others. Rodriguez doesn't need to win the Big 12 in 2025; he just has to win some games, get to a bowl game, and play competitive football, showing that the future is bright.

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