Where Does West Virginia Sit in CBS Sports' Ranking of All 136 FBS Teams?

The Mountaineers get a low ranking heading into the 2025 season.

West Virginia University defensive back Fred Perry | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

Optimism is flowing throughout the state of West Virginia as Rich Rodriguez has returned to lead the WVU football program, but for those who reside outside of the Mountain State, the bar is set pretty low in year one of his second stint.

CBS Sports recently ranked all 136 FBS teams heading into the 2025 season, and the Mountaineers came in at No. 65. While they do sit toward the bottom of those in the Power Four, they do rank higher than ten others such as Boston College, Maryland, Arizona, Mississippi State, Cal, UCF, Northwestern, Wake Forest, Stanford, and Purdue.

Is 65 too low?

WVU Athletics Communication

While I have a difficult time believing the Mountaineers will have a worse season than the likes of Oklahoma State, Rutgers, Virginia, UNLV, Houston, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, Colorado, Pitt, and a few others, I can't be too harsh on the ranking.

WVU returns one starter on offense — Jahiem White — and two starters on defense in defensive lineman Edward Vesterinen and linebacker Reid Carrico. Now, they do have a slew of transfers on both sides of the ball who have racked up a lot of experience elsewhere, but that's a much different story than someone who's been here, even if under another coaching staff.

Quarterback play is often what carries teams during the season, and it's also what creates hype around certain teams in the preseason. Considering West Virginia doesn't know who the starter is going to be (and currently has five guys getting reps), it's hard for anyone to conjure up the idea that the Mountaineers are going to be a player in the Big 12 title race in November.

The schedule is another piece of the equation that goes against WVU. They have to face many of the league's top teams, such as Arizona State, Texas Tech, BYU, TCU, Utah, and Kansas. Having a disappointing outcome in non-conference play could set them up for a long season.

Historically, Rich Rodriguez has been known to surpass preseason expectations, so don't be surprised if the Mountaineers are much better than the No. 65 ranking given to them here.

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