The Big 12 Year-Two Trend That Should Have WVU Fans Feeling Optimistic

We should see better results from the Mountaineers in 2026.

Sep 13, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez celebrates after defeating the Pittsburgh Panthers at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Year two. It's where things should turn for a program and sometimes, in a big way. The staff has had time to mesh while building relationships with its players and recruits, and has an idea of what they need to hone in on before the start of the new season, as opposed to trying to figure out nearly everything on the fly in year one.

I was interested to see how other coaches in the Big 12 fared in their second season, and while I expected an increase in wins, I was surprised to see how big of a turnaround many of them had.

Coaches hired since 2020 (with same team, still in the league, have at least two years in)

No. 1: Dave Aranda, Baylor: 2-7 —> 12-2 (+10)

T-No. 2: Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State: 3-9 —> 11-3 (+6)

T-No. 2: Willie Fritz, Houston: 4-9 —> 10-3 (+6)

T-No. 4: Brent Brennan, Arizona: 4-8 —> 9-4 (+5)

T-No. 4: Deion Sanders, Colorado: 4-8 —> 9-4 (5)

No. 6: Lance Leipold, Kansas: 2-10 —> 6-7 (+4)

No. 7: Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati: 3-9 —> 5-7 (+2)

No. 8: Joey McGuire, Texas Tech: 8-5 —> 7-6 (-1)

No. 9: Sonny Dykes, TCU: 13-2 —> 5-7 (-8)

Six coaches experienced what I would consider "major" turnarounds, improving their win total by 4+. Seven of the nine won more games, while McGuire took a slight step back and Dykes went from playing in the national title game to missing out on a bowl game. Both coaches have obviously rebounded and are in great shape for 2026 and beyond.

Rich Rodriguez: 4-8 —> ?

WVU Athletics Communications

Of the Big 12 coaches listed above, they saw an average of 3.2 more wins in year two. West Virginia went 4-8 in 2025, so if the Mountaineers just meet the average and go 7-5, I think most reasonable fans would be pretty happy with where things are headed.

Because Curt Cignetti immediately turned Indiana around and then won the national championship in year two, it has distorted fans' expectations of what a rebuild should look like. Outside of Cignetti, there hasn't been another coach who has had a similar turnaround, especially not at a non-blueblood.

Reaching seven wins is certainly possible for the Mountaineers, especially if they pull the upset in Week 3 against Virginia to move to what should be a 3-0 mark with five home games left on the schedule.