West Virginia Mountaineers College Football Preview 2026

West Virginia Quick Hits

• Head Coach: Rich Rodriguez (19th year overall, 2nd at West Virginia — 4-8 in 2025)
• Best Case / Worst Case: Stay in Big 12 title chase late/miss out on a bowl game
• Key Player: Michael Hawkins, QB Soph.
• 2025 Record: 4-8
• Biggest Question: Can the offense work like it’s supposed to?

West Virginia Key 2025 Stats

• 132nd in the nation in third-down conversions
• The pass defense was the worst in the Big 12, allowing 265.4 yards per game
• The offense, sort of by design, only had the ball an average of 26:34 per game

Offense

Normally, a coach like Rodriguez needs a year or so to get everyone used to the system. This West Virginia team, though, went through an overhaul through the portal, and it got a huge upgrade in talent.

- 2026 West Virginia Schedule Analysis

What’s Working

- The backfield is loaded now. Scotty Fox did a decent job with the offense late in the season, but Oklahoma transfer Michael Hawkins is the right fit for the quarterback gig.

- Now the offense has its running back star. When the RichRod attack is crushing, the quarterback can move, and there’s one running back who takes over and rips through everything.

That’s Cam Cook - he ran for 1,659 yards and 16 touchdowns last year in the WVU-style offense at Jacksonville State.

- When this thing works, look out. The Mountaineers were 4-1 when coming up with more than 350 yards of total offense, and 0-7 when they didn’t. In Rodriguez’s last year at Jacksonville State in 2024, the ground game averaged 251 yards per game.

What Needs Work

- The offensive line needs to be sharper. It didn’t do much of anything in pass protection last season, and it rarely seemed to be in sync.

Getting Carsten Casady (UConn) for the left tackle spot moves starter Nick Krahe over to guard. Combine those two with veteran center Landen Livingston, and the line should be stronger.

- There isn’t a ton of starting experience back overall. Again, this should be an upgrade at most spots, but the starting skill positions should be all new.

- Top receiver Cam Vaughn left for Miami. Bringing in Prince Strachan (USC) helps, and DJ Epps (Troy) was a good pickup, but the new receivers will be working with a new quarterback.

Player to Watch

Cam Cook, RB Sr.
There isn’t a more ideal fit for this offense. He was a decent part of the TCU rotation for two years, and then last year, he turned into a Doak Walker-caliber star at Jacksonville State. After leading the nation in rushing last year, it's not crazy to expect 2,000 rushing yards.

Defense

It’s not like the defense is along for the ride on Rich Rodriguez teams, but its job is to hang on.

The offense goes at warp speed, which is great at keeping defenses on their toes, but crushing for the Mountaineer D that has to be on the field for close to 35 minutes per game.

What’s Working

- The pass rush. Last year’s Mountaineer defense was fantastic at getting into the backfield. It was among the best in the Big 12 in tackles for loss, did a nice job at getting to the quarterback, and considering the pressure it’s under, wasn’t bad on third downs.

- Here come the parts to keep it going. Zeke Campbell (Coastal Carolina) is a veteran pass rusher who came up with 5.5 sacks last season, Harper Holloman (Western Kentucky) will be turned loose in a hybrid role, and the idea is to attack, attack, attack.

- There are just enough understudies returning to be okay. Ben Cutter is a bit undersized, but he should make a ton of tackles in the middle of the linebacking corps. There’s a nice mix of size and upside at defensive tackle.

What Needs Work

- Just about everyone has to be replaced. The Mountaineers did an okay job in the transfer portal, but losing LB Ben Bogle to Arkansas and DT Hammond Russell to Wisconsin didn’t help.

- The secondary has to come together fast. Safety Kamari Wilson (Memphis) is a seasoned veteran who must be an instant star, and the corner combination of Nick Taylor and Keyshawn Robinson has to go from backups to brilliant.

- The linebacking corps is undersized, but it can move. Running teams killed the Mountaineers last year. West Virginia was 0-8 when allowing more than 85 rushing yards.

Player to Watch

Matt Sieg, S Fr.
There’s a good chance they throw the new guy out there right away, and for good reason.

The star recruit is a dream of a free safety, with a quarterback mentality - he was a great all-around offensive star in high school - and the range to be an instant playmaker.

Keys to the Season

More than anything else, the Mountaineers have to do what they want to do. Crank up the offense, go fast, and control the tempo of every game. Make teams adjust to them.

Player Who Needs To Shine

Michael Hawkins, QB Soph.
Cam Cook will be the main man of the offense, but Hawkins - or Scotty Fox Jr. - has to be the consistent playmaker to make it all go.

He saw a little time at Oklahoma - most notably, getting the start in the Armed Forces Bowl loss to Navy in 2024 - and he should be ready right away to be a statistical star.

Biggest Concern

The offense has to work.

The overall talent isn't there compared to most elite Big 12 teams, so - in full Bo Schembechler “the team, the team, the team” voice - it’s the scheme, the scheme, the scheme.

As long as the Mountaineer offense is working, everything will be okay.

Biggest Game

Oklahoma State, September 26
(Full apologies for this.) It’s full scheme ahead in this, with the RichRod lightning fast attack vs the new Oklahoma State offense that puts its foot on the gas all game long.

If it’s possible for both teams to be around 25 minutes in time of possession, this would be the game.

It’s the Big 12 opener, and it doesn’t get any easier than this for the Mountaineers. They have to set the tone.

Transfer Portal

It was a functional run through the transfer portal, with the high-end pieces for the offense making the most noise. There wasn’t enough for the defense, so the main signings had better be great.

Best Signing

Cam Cook, RB Sr.
The offense is good enough to be fine with a running back rotation, but the Jacksonville State star should be a national figure on stats alone.

Biggest Loss

Cam Vaughn, WR Jr.
He made the move with Rodriguez from Jacksonville State, and he was the main threat last year with a team-high 35 catches for 541 yards and four scores. Now he’ll be a part of the Miami passing attack.

Other Names to Know

• Jacob Bradford, S from LSU
• Ezekiel Durham-Campbell, EDGE from Coastal Carolina
• Tobi Haastrup, EDGE from Oregon

CFN Season Prediction

This is the Big 12’s biggest wild card team.

Scheme-wise, Oklahoma State might have the other offense that no one wants to face, but West Virginia’s attack is the one that will scare everyone.

If you can’t hit the Mountaineer fastball, you’re in for a very long day.

It’s why predicting West Virginia is tough. It can beat anyone on the right day, but there’s still a long way to go to be at a Big 12 Championship level - it was closer to 1-11 last year than 11-1.

But it will win its share of games to get to a bowl game with a chance for a winning record for the first time in three seasons.

CFN Prediction: 6-6
- West Virginia Win Total Breakdown

The schedule isn’t too bad - there’s no Arizona State, BYU, or Kansas State - but going to Texas Tech, Utah, and TCU will be tough, and Arizona, Cincinnati, and Houston won’t be easy home dates.

No matter what, though, with this offense, it’s going to be a fun season.