West Virginia Will Be a Top-25 Team by October — Bold or Realistic?

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 12:40 PM ET

West Virginia may not be a true contender for the Big 12 title or College Football Playoff in 2025, but they can still make some noise and show signs of being a program that's well on its way to returning to national relevance.

It's possible that the Mountaineers could get out to a red-hot start and potentially become ranked by October, which would be the first time they've had a number next to their name since Dana Holgorsen strolled the sidelines.

Here are three reasons why WVU getting ranked that early in the season isn't all that far-fetched.

The schedule

This is really the main reason this is even a discussion. Robert Morris? Yeah, chalk that up as a win. Ohio? It's a tricky one, but WVU is clearly the more talented team and should have a strong presence in Athens from the fan base. And then to round out non-conference play, they get Pitt at home. That bodes much better than having to make a trip to Happy Valley or Blacksburg in addition to playing Pitt. It won't be easy, but if the Mountaineers can take care of business at home, they should be 3-0 heading into league play.

WVU will then hit the road to play Kansas. It's going to be a rowdy environment since it will be the Jayhawks' first Big 12 game in their newly renovated stadium. Kansas is a tough team to gauge heading into 2025, thanks to their disappointing campaign a year ago. That said, playing at Kansas is much better than opening on the road at, say, Arizona State.

Should West Virginia beat Kansas, they'll return home for a matchup with Utah, who will almost certainly be in the top 25, especially if they beat Texas Tech the week prior. I've been back-and-forth on WVU's chances against Utah, but if they were to win, it's hard to see how they wouldn't be ranked heading into October. They would be 5-0 (2-0) and buzz around the program thanks to Rich Rod's return.

Stout ground game

As I stated in my positional preview breaking down the running backs, this group isn't getting talked about enough nationally. They have one of the top playmakers in the game in Jahiem White, who will fit this offense like a glove, and he has plenty of help behind him. SMU transfer Jaylan Knighton, Northern Iowa transfer Tye Edwards, Ferris State transfer Kannon Katzer, and JUCO addition Cyncir Bowers all have over 1,000 yards for their career. It may take some time for this offense to truly gel, but if there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that Rich Rodriguez will have answers in the run game - he always does.

Mastermind defensive coordinator

Zac Alley is one of the top young defensive minds in college football, and Rich Rodriguez pulling him away from Oklahoma was one of the biggest moves he made all offseason, quite possibly the biggest. He's going to have a couple of weeks to try out all sorts of different lineups and play calls before he really has to dial it in for the Backyard Brawl. Obviously, Ohio, as previously mentioned, is no slouch, but you get the point. What fans will love most about Alley's approach is that he's super aggressive and gives his players a lot of freedom. This allows them to play fast and not think nearly as much, which is ideal when you have as many newcomers as they have.