WVU Crushed by UCF: What We Learned from the Mountaineers’ Latest Collapse

Dissecting West Virginia's loss to the UCF Knights.

Oct 18, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Khalil Wilkins (14) rushes for a first half touchdown against the Central Florida Knights at Acrisure Bounce House. Mandatory Credit: Russell Lansford-Imagn Images | Russell Lansford-Imagn Images

It was another brutal Saturday for West Virginia as the Mountaineers were beaten soundly by UCF by a 45-13 score.

Here are a few takeaways from the latest disaster.

QB carousel chaos

I understand Rich Rodriguez is trying to find the right guy to run this ship, but continuing to rotate quarterbacks is not going to get the job done. Khalil Wilkins, in my opinion, played well enough two weeks ago against BYU to get the start this afternoon. Now, what happened in the practices over the past two weeks may have led Rodriguez to believe that Scotty Fox was the right choice, but I just don't understand why you go away from Wilkins, even if he had some iffy practices. Wilkins didn't pass the ball well today, but that's beside the point, and I'll expand on that in a second.

Offensive line misery

It's always something with this group. Detaching from a guy way too early, not keeping d-linemen grounded, false starts, holds, not getting push — it's always something. The good thing? The starting left guard, right guard, and right tackle are all graduating, which, in theory, would pave the way for fresh blood at those spots. Then again, why is that not happening now? Why not shuffle it up? Rodriguez clearly has no issues doing so at the quarterback position, so why not up front? The same five have started every game, and they've made zero progress, particularly in pass protection.

No verticality whatsoever

I understand there are limitations in the pass game because of the revolving door at quarterback and poor offensive line play, but there is absolutely no threat to throw the ball beyond five yards down the field, regardless of who is under center. Yeah, it's great and all to rush for over 200 yards per game, but if that's all you can do, it's just empty calorie stats. I'm not suggesting taking shots 20+ yards downfield, but damn... something other than a quick hitch or pass out to the flat.

2-10

Is Colorado a winnable game still? After today, I'm not sure that's the case. I hate to be that guy, but let's be real, this team is staring right into the eyes of a 2-10 record, which would be the worst season in WVU football since 1978 when Frank Cignetti went 2-9.

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