Rich Rodriguez Believes West Virginia Can Compete for Title in 'Wide-Open' Big 12

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated May 16, 2025 9:26 AM ET

It may not be the league with the most talent, but the Big 12 may be the most competitive Power Four conference in college football. There are no gimme wins like there are in the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC. Every week is a challenge, and on any given Saturday, one of the perceived "bottom feeders" can knock off one of the league's "top" teams.

Since Oklahoma and Texas departed for the SEC, it opened up things even more in the Big 12. Without a true blue blood, every team feels like they have a chance to win the league, including first-year West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez.

Rich Rod was recently asked about his thoughts on the Big 12 during an appearance on the Triple Option podcast.

The @Big12Conference is WIDE open & @RealCoachRod is ready to have #WVU competing for championships out the gate@Wendys #WendysPartner pic.twitter.com/0hBzgIg5GC
— Rob Stone (@RobStoneONFOX) May 15, 2025

“I probably know the Big 12 better than most other leagues because most of the teams in there, I played while I was at Arizona. Like, half the Pac-12 is now there, and we played BYU a couple times as well, so I know a lot of those teams and their programs. But every year is different. Arizona State went from last to first last year, and we’ll be picked somewhere near the bottom. I don’t say we’re going to be first, but there’s not going to be one team that’s just going to dominate. I think it’s going to be kind of wide-open and probably going to be that way for a couple of years. Our expectation is to win and compete for a championship every year, including our first year. This will be the hardest year. Without question, the hardest year is the first year, but that being said, the Big 12 is pretty wide open, I think.”

The Mountaineers will have to play three of the best teams in the league in BYU, Texas Tech, and Arizona State, but if they're able to steal one of those games and protect home turf, there's a chance that they can be in the conversation in November.