What's a Legitimate Concern for WVU — and What's an Overreaction?

Week one overreactions. There is a reason this is a widely known thing. It happens every year for every team, win, lose, or draw. And after Saturday's 31-24 win over Coastal Carolina, there were certainly more than a few overreactions to what had just taken place at Milan Puskar Stadium.

The number one thing to keep in mind is that the first game is exactly what it sounds like — the first game. It's not who you will be in two weeks, and it's certainly not going to tell you everything you need to know about how the season is going to go, good or bad.

There are no definites in college football. You may match up really well with a team and beat the daylights out of them, and all of a sudden, everyone is talking about you like you're a national championship contender, i.e., Virginia.

Or you may dominate for a half and then lay an egg on both sides of the ball in the second half, as West Virginia did, and now some of you are thinking they won't win another game after this upcoming Saturday.

So, what exactly is a concern? What is an overreaction? My take on specific areas following WVU's season opener:

Cam Cook kept in check after the big 72-yard run: Overreaction

West Virginia's Cam Cook (4) breaks a tackle against Coastal Carolina's Chandavian Bradley. (0) — West Virginia's Cam Cook (4) breaks a tackle against Coastal Carolina's Chandavian Bradley (0) during an NCAA college football game in Morgantown, W.Va., Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan) | (AP Photo/Gregory Payan)

Cam made quite the first impression, ripping off a 72-yard scamper on the first play from scrimmage and then punching it into the end zone on the very next play. After that, he was held to 70 yards on 29 carries. I can't tell you how many times I've seen "Cam Cook only averaged 2.4 yards per carry after the big run" over the weekend.

That's not how it works. The big play happened. You can't just remove it. Now, if you want to go with that angle, fine, but there is context behind the limited yardage. Coastal's defense loaded up the box snap after snap, forcing WVU to throw the ball. Here's the catch: Rich Rod didn't want to throw it. So yeah, when you're loading up to stop the run and the offense has zero desire to go away from it, running lanes are going to be clogged, and to break one, you're going to need a lot of things to break down on defense. Cam Cook is a stud and will be just fine. He's not one to worry about.

Pass coverage: Legit concern

Sep 5, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Coastal Carolina Chanticleers tight end Cyrus Ellison (9) catches a pass and is hit out of bounds during the first quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

I talked a little bit about this yesterday, but I think defensive coordinator Zac Alley is going to have to chizzle away at the one million different things he'd like to call and scheme up. I don't believe what he called on Saturday was overly complicated by any means, but to get things ironed out, he is going to have to oversimplify things before he can start tapping into the second, third, and fourth layers of complex looks.

When you have 11 new starters, you have to ease into it and figure out what they do well. How many times since the spring have we heard Rich Rod complain about doing too much? That's part of it, but I also wonder if they just don't have the horses to get it done, and that's not an overreaction to one game — that's something we all wondered going into the season. The big NIL deals, you can figure, were on the offensive side.

The good news is there are still two more weeks to clean things up before you get really tested — this week and the week of work leading up to the Virginia game.

A lack of trust in the passing game: Overreaction

West Virginia University quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Throwing the football just 14 times was a surprise to me, but it became pretty clear what Rich was trying to do — and, more importantly, not do. He knew that this was a great opportunity for his five linemen, who are experienced but haven't played together, to get a bunch of reps early in the season to get stuff on tape and develop that chemistry up front.

For this thing to go, that group has to control the line of scrimmage. It may not have been all good all of the time, but as I mentioned, that's what happens when you're hammering the ball into a heavy box over and over.

The limited attempts were not because Rodriguez doesn't have confidence in Mike Hawkins Jr. to get the job done. I mean, you could clearly see he is just as dangerous with his arm as he is with his feet, completing 11 of those 14 passes and ripping off some really impressive throws. He did everything asked of him and then some. You can see why I've been saying this was never a competition, as some made it out to be.

Depth on defense: Legit concern

West Virginia University Defensive Coordinator Zac Alley | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

Alley played 30 on defense vs. Coastal, so you might think that would indicate he has a bunch of guys he feels comfortable putting into the game. Well, when you peel back the layers of this, you'll quickly realize it isn't necessarily a healthy 30.

Nine of those 30 players were defensive linemen. You can unofficially knock that down to eight now with the injury to Darius Wiley. Three of those guys played five or fewer snaps. Six linebackers played, and it was a bit of a mixed bag there. But at corner...oh boy. Only three guys saw snaps. Three. And you all witnessed how those three in particular played.

Remember the wretched offensive line last year? How could you not? Well, it was very obviously a bad group, but they continued to roll the same group out there all game, every game. That told you a lot about what they had behind them — not much.

I'm not ready to say that's going to be the case for the cornerback group because it's one game, and there may be reasons why Alley only played Chams Diagne, Nick Taylor, and Keyshawn Robinson, but it is definitely concerning. Are Da'Mun Allen, Rayshawn Reynolds Jr., and Jaire Rawlison able to help you? Vincent Smith? ChaMarryus Bomar? Anyone else?

Another long year incoming: Overreaction

West Virginia University Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker and head coach Rich Rodriguez | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Could West Virginia be in for another disappointing season? Sure, but we don't know that after what happened on Saturday. If the game was close from start to finish, then the panic meter would be broken, shattered, and in pieces.

They jumped out to a 24-0 lead, and Rodriguez was content with just working the run game and not showing his hand. That doesn't excuse the performance on the defensive side of the ball whatsoever, but it was almost like he was trying to win the game by calling the same handful of plays.

And just look around college football. There were a bunch of surprising Week 1 scores. I mean, heck, Oklahoma State lost to Tulsa, for crying out loud. Texas Tech didn't look all that great against Abilene Christian. That's what you're going to get in these openers when there are no preseason games, and you have somewhere between 30 and 50 new players, or, in West Virginia's case, 80+.

This team will get better, as will everyone else. That's why you can't make a 12-game assumption based on one game.

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