One Voice in the National Media Just Picked West Virginia as a Big 12 Dark Horse

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Jul 5, 2025 9:04 AM ET

The 2025 season is widely viewed as the start of a rebuild for West Virginia, with many having low expectations for the Mountaineers, myself included. Anytime you have this much turnover in one offseason and no true answer at quarterback, it's hard for anyone to set the bar high.

That doesn't mean WVU can't play competitive football and perhaps surpass those low expectations. If anything, the low bar is more in fairness to the players and staff who have a lot of catching up to do heading into the season. Sure, they could win nine or ten games, but to put that as the expectation is unfair for this group.

No one, and I mean no one, has any idea as to how good this team can be in year one. You're better off throwing darts blindfolded and hitting the bullseye than you are to accurately predict how this upcoming season will go.

All that being said, there is a speck of optimism surrounding the program from the national media, as CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli recently picked West Virginia as his dark horse candidate in the Big 12 Conference.

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“I am going to go with West Virginia. Tell me if this sounds familiar. A new coach comes in, brings in a ton of recruits, a lot of them from his former G5 school, which was a competitive program within its conference. That program is named Indiana, and it was Curt Cignetti, and we saw what the Hoosiers did. Rich Rod’s coming to West Virginia, and he’s bringing a whole lot of Jacksonville State boys with him. I am buying into the Rich Rod hype. And I think more important than anything is that this is the Big 12. In the Big 12 last year, the top four teams in the conference finished 7-2. You’re allowed to make mistakes in this league and stay in the hunt.

"And I look at this West Virginia team, and I just like Rich Rod as a coach. Like, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he’s won everywhere he’s gone. Now, I know he didn’t win enough at Michigan, but he’s never had bad teams. I think in this conference, with this coach, at this time, there is an opportunity for the Mountaineers to just kind of sneak up into the top, just like Arizona State did, and then at the end of the year find themselves going to the Big 12 championship.”