Three Games In and It’s Clear Rich Rodriguez Has Already Changed WVU Football

When a new coach takes over at any school, they want to see competitive football right away and hope to secure that first signature win sooner rather than later. After losing to Ohio in Week 2, there was a major concern about whether West Virginia would be able to play competitive football in the Big 12.

A week later, obviously, the mood around the program changed with a huge win over bitter rival Pitt in overtime. And yes, it is a signature win, I don't care what the criteria is, that's a signature win in my book. Beating your rival, a team that on paper is much better than you, signifies that the future is bright. The way Rich Rodriguez managed the clock at the end of the game was a thing of beauty. He knew he couldn't give Pitt time to work with and didn't, leaving just 11 seconds left.

By game three, this team has already taken on the identity of its head coach — never giving up, fighting every snap, playing their tail off, and being physical. I'm not trying to take shots at former head coach Neal Brown, I'm really not, but when you know the identity of a team three games into a tenure, you're in a great spot. The last regime took a while to align to the identity the coach wanted and then strayed away from it in year six.

Unfortunately, it's not all sunshine and rainbows, though. This Big 12 schedule that West Virginia has to navigate is brutal. There are going to be plenty of bumps along the way, and possibly that will happen tonight. But the main key for the Mountaineers in 2025 is to get one week better each week, so that you notice a difference by November. If you score some big wins along the way, then great. But this is really about setting the foundation for what's to come. And so far, this group has completely bought into the hard edge mentality

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