Feb 7, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Pat McAfee on the Pat McAfee Show set on Radio Row at the Super Bowl LIX media center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Pat McAfee, Bruce Irvin React to West Virginia's Shocking Loss to Ohio

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Sep 7, 2025 11:05 AM ET

West Virginia knew they were going to get all they could handle this week against the Ohio Bobcats, a team that has won over thirty games over the last three years and just won the MAC championship going away in 2024. Still, the expectation was that they'd be able to find a way to get the job done, pretty or not, and return to Morgantown 2-0 with a ton of buzz surrounding the Backyard Brawl.

The Mountaineers' offense never found any rhythm, constantly playing behind the chains and living in 3rd and long for much of the day. Losing Jahiem White and Jaden Bray certainly didn't help, but even before their injuries, the unit wasn't clicking.

The end result is still hard for Mountaineer fans to believe, considering WVU hasn't lost a regular-season game against a Group of Six opponent since 2008. Even former Mountaineers Bruce Irvin and Pat McAfee had a tough time taking this one in.

"I love that school and state. Y'all know this. F****** love it! But we lost to Ohio," Irvin tweeted.

"Ohio University has a damn good football team," McAfee tweeted before posting the GIF below.

pic.twitter.com/FNvoyIX9DJ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 6, 2025

There's enough blame to go around for the loss, but head coach Rich Rodriguez took accountability for it in his postgame press conference, saying this one is on him.

"I’m just very disappointed. It starts with me. I told the guys I failed them this week," Rodriguez said. "I thought we had a good week of practice. I thought we were ready to play, and we weren’t. We didn’t execute. A lot of things to work on. I knew there were would some growing pains. I’m going to do a better job, and we’ll get better from this."

Some may think the Backyard Brawl couldn't come at a worse time, but honestly, I think this is when you would want it. Right after a disappointing loss on the road, Rodriguez will have this group's full attention and locked in throughout the week.

This article first appeared on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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