How WVU Can Finally End Its Seven-Year Rankings Drought

It's been a minute since West Virginia was nationally relevant in football, and that's part of the reason Rich Rodriguez came back for a second tour.

It's personal for him. Not only does he want to make up for the mistake he made nearly two decades ago, leaving for Michigan, but he also wants West Virginia football to get back to what everyone expects it to be — a consistent winner that competes for championships.

Who knows if that happens in 2026, but this team can do things it hasn't done in a long time, such as seeing a little number next to its name.

With all of the struggles during the Neal Brown era and a rough year one in Rich Rod's return, it feels like it's been longer than seven years since the Mountaineers were last ranked. But then you begin to think of that fun 2018 team with Will Grier and Co. and think, man, it's already been that long?

West Virginia has the second-longest active drought (among Power Four teams) in the AP Top 25, trailing Rutgers, which hasn't appeared in the poll since 2012. Stanford, Cal, and Maryland are in the same boat as WVU, having not been ranked since 2019, but aren't quite as long as the Mountaineers' because they were each ranked during the 2019 season. West Virginia's 2019 ranking was when they finished the 2018 season 20th.

How the drought could end this fall

For a team like West Virginia, which hasn't done much of anything in years — aside from the blip on the radar in 2023 — it's going to take rattling off a bunch of wins early to capture the attention of voters.

Fortunately for the Mountaineers, they have a favorable schedule to begin the year.

They open the season with a pair of home games against Coastal Carolina and FCS foe UT Martin, neither of whom should pose much of a threat.

The following week, they'll head to Charlotte for a late-night, neutral-site showdown with Virginia. The Cavaliers are coming off their best season in program history and have the most experienced team in college football entering the season, for whatever that's worth. If WVU wins that game, they'll be in business. It won't be enough to propel them into the top 25, but it could get them a couple of votes.

Their next two games could be what determines if the drought ends or continues for another year.

The Mountaineers will host Oklahoma State for its Big 12 opener, and although they are everyone's offseason darling, WVU is getting them at a good time. The Cowboys could still be working through some things, and if they're traveling to Morgantown against a 3-0 team, that place will be rowdy. It's a very winnable game and one that should have them on the cusp of breaking through the rankings.

If WVU is unscathed through the first four weeks, it will likely be one win away from snapping the drought, and all that would stand between them is a road trip to Ames. Yuck, amirite? It doesn't matter that Iowa State had a coaching change and essentially flipped its entire roster. That place is a house of horrors. And that would seem like the type of game the Mountaineers would drop, wouldn't it?

5-0. That's what I believe they'll need to reach to do it. If it doesn't happen then, it may not happen the rest of the season.

Why? Well, the very next week, they'll have Arizona coming to town, who is going to be one of the top teams in the league, and then after their matchup with Cincinnati, the gauntlet begins. They will close out the season with games against TCU (road), Texas Tech (road), Kansas, Houston, and Utah (road).

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