What Happened to WVU Football and How Long Before it Finally Gets Better?

"He looks, he fires, it's incomplete! It's all over! The Mountaineers have won the Backyard Brawl!"

That was the call from WVU play-by-play announcer Tony Caridi the moment Pitt QB Eli Holstein's pass hit the ground, sealing the deal on an instant classic as WVU pulled off the come-from-behind win in overtime just a little over a month ago.

For a moment, the feeling in the air in Morgantown felt different. Hope surrounded the program, and with Rich Rodriguez getting his redemption, it seemed like the perfect turning point for a program that's been in one of its worst stretches of all time.

Unfortunately, it wasn't.

Since that special night on September 13th, the Mountaineers have dropped four straight games and are losing by an average of 27.7 points per game. Injuries have taken a toll on this team, but I'm not sure how much different things would be even if half of those guys were available.

This team has glaring weaknesses across the board in its starting units, and to make matters worse, it lacks Big 12-caliber depth. As the embarrassing losses continue to pile up with virtually no end in sight, fans are beginning to wonder how long this will last and if the Mountaineers can be competitive in this era of college football.

The short answer is yes, they can.

The long answer...

It's still going to take some time before West Virginia gets to where they and the fans want to be because the goal is to build this thing through the high school ranks, which is pretty much what every successful program that doesn't have oil money or an endless list of millionaires/billionaires backing them is doing.

WVU saw roughly half of its 2025 recruiting class end up elsewhere, so to compensate for it in the short term, they had to go out and sign more guys in the transfer portal. In this cycle, the goal is to sign roughly 35 high schoolers, which is slightly more than usual, but they're trying to make up for what was essentially a lost year in recruiting.

I haven't been able to confirm the thought process behind not using every dollar available to them via the rev share this past season, but my hunch is that they were aware of how difficult it would be to field a highly competitive roster with so many spots to fill. The more you add in the portal, the less you can spend on top-tier talent. The deeper we get into this tenure, you should see that portal class number shrink, thus, the caliber of player they're able to acquire improves.

With the additional scholarships that the university recently approved, in addition to another full rev share, plus the money that was not used this past season, WVU should be able to manufacture a more competitive bunch in 2026.

Will it be good enough to compete for a conference title? I wouldn't go that far, but you should at the very least be able to see shades of what this thing will look like when Rodriguez gets it humming. Right now, the staff is playing a game of catch-up on the recruiting trail, and until those guys get on campus, learn the system, and develop, WVU will continue to experience some growing pains.

This isn't going to last forever. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Playing competitive football should happen in 2026. Turning the corner and being above average is a realistic goal by year three. After that, it's all about becoming an annual contender in the Big 12 and a team that every few years has a chance to make something special happen.

Other programs with fewer resources (who are deeper into their current coach's tenure) are having success in this era. WVU can do it, too.

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