The new season of college football is nearly upon us, and while Arizona State is seeking to repeat as Big 12 champions, the rest of the conference will have something to say about that. In anticipation of the new season, we're breaking down each of the 15 other schools and where they stand heading into the year. You can find previously released breakdowns below.
Oklahoma State
Houston
BYU
Colorado
Cincinnati
Arizona
What happened last year
Head coach Neal Brown earned a contract extension ahead of last year after finally breaking through, winning nine games despite having the hottest seat in the Big 12. That was short-lived, though, as West Virginia crashed back down to Earth with a 6-6 record.
That marked the fifth time in six seasons where Brown had failed to win more than six games, and the Mountaineers were clearly languished in mediocrity. Worse still is how the season played out. Not a single one of their six victories came against a team that finished with a winning record.
And the losses were largely lopsided. Iowa State beat them by 12 points, Kansas State beat them by 27 points, and Texas Tech beat them by 37. Not only was West Virginia perpetually stuck in the middle of the standings, they were being completely outclassed by the best of the conference.
What's new this year
West Virginia made a coaching change, firing Brown and bringing back a former head coach in Rich Rodriguez. After three straight nine-win seasons at Jacksonville State, Rodriguez returned to his alma mater, where he coached from 2001 to 2007 before controversially dumping them for more money and prestige at Michigan.
Rodriguez only lasted three years in Ann Arbor, of course, getting fired with a 15-22 record and a bevvy of NCAA rules violations. He later took the head coaching job at Arizona, where he had decent success, but was also fired due to some off-field controversies.
Rodriguez is a coaching icon, though, heavily credited with popularizing the no-huddle, run-heavy spread option offense. Across six different head coaching gigs, Rodriguez also has a career record of 190-129-2, with a strong track record of offensive production.
While Rodriguez calls plays on offense, he poached Zac Alley from Oklahoma to run his defense. Alley, a disciple of Sooners head coach Brent Venables, has long been a rising star in the coaching ranks. Luring him to Morgantown was a coup for Rodriguez and West Virginia.
As is common with coaching changes, there's also been a ton of roster turnover. The Mountaineers said goodbye to 30 transfers and welcomed in 31 new players, including two quarterbacks. Rodriguez was noncommittal on who will start under center for him at Big 12 Football Media Days, but he did indicate it's a three-man race.
Nicco Marchiol, an Arizona native and highly touted lefty, returns from last year after seeing minimal action in games. But he'll have to contend with Max Brown - who started four games for Charlotte last year but lost all of them - and Jaylen Henderson, an athletic dual threat quarterback who went 2-2 at Texas A&M in 2023 but didn't see the field at all last year.
Reasons for optimism
Bringing Rodriguez back into the fold was enough to restore the fan base's enthusiasm in the program. West Virginia had been a consistent winner for most of the 2000's, even after Rodriguez left, but that fell by the wayside with Brown. Seeing the return of the coach who started it all was a big morale booster.
Of course, Rodriguez has been candid about how much work needs to be done, and he's seemingly tempering expectations for fans in his first year. Even still, Rodriguez is a fairly quick program builder, thanks in large part to his dynamic offenses. In his last two stops, he won 8+ games in his debut season.
Reasons for skepticism
West Virginia was not very good last year, and there's only so much Rodriguez can do in one season. The uncertainty at quarterback makes it even harder to project a quick turnaround, though Rodriguez's offenses is fairly quarterback friendly.
There's also a fair question of whether Rodriguez still has his fastball. He hasn't coached on the Power 4 level since 2017, when it was the Power 5 and well before the transfer portal, NIL, and revenue sharing existed. All those things were factors at Jacksonville State, but not nearly to the extent it will be in Morgantown.
Realistic expectations
Most experts seem to view West Virginia as a lock to be one of the Big 12's worst teams this year.
That's understandable, especially with a schedule that has them facing three of the four teams that finished in a tie for first place in the Big 12 last year. They also draw TCU, Texas Tech, Kansas, and Utah, all of whom are expected to be better this year.
That said, Rodriguez's track record is hard to ignore. Morgantown is also a uniquely tough place to play, and represents a sizable travel distance for most other Big 12 programs. Facing Utah, TCU, Colorado, and Texas Tech at home is a major boon for the Mountaineers.
Don't be surprised if West Virginia manages to pull an upset here and there, especially at home. It's probably unrealistic to think the Mountaineers can contend for the Big 12 in 2025, but Rodriguez should get close to a bowl berth.