Week 3 of the 2026 NFL season brought eight former Mountaineers onto the field, and five of them were in the starting lineup for their teams.
Geno Smith delivered the biggest stat line of the group in the Jets’ 31-24 loss to the Lions. The 14th-year quarterback completed 31 of 37 passes for 321 yards, threw three touchdowns and finished with a 129.8 QBR. He also added five rushes for 12 yards and played all 66 offensive snaps.
On the other side of the ball in Washington’s 33-31 win over Seattle, Rasul Douglas was busy for the Commanders. The 11th-year cornerback recorded three tackles and a pass breakup while playing 45 defensive snaps.
Up front, Zach Frazier was on the field for every offensive snap in Pittsburgh’s 30-27 win over Cincinnati. The third-year center played all 62 offensive snaps for the Steelers.
Colton McKivitz did the same for San Francisco in its 36-30 win over Arizona. The seventh-year tackle was on the field for all 54 offensive snaps and also took part in six special teams plays.
Arizona’s Dante Stills was active in the Cardinals’ 36-30 loss to the 49ers. The fourth-year defensive end recorded one tackle and played 30 defensive snaps.
A few former Mountaineers contributed in smaller roles. Rex Sunahara appeared on eight special teams plays in Cleveland’s 21-18 win over Carolina, while Austin Brinkman did the same in Houston’s 19-17 loss to Indianapolis. Wyatt Milum logged six offensive snaps and six special teams snaps in Jacksonville’s 35-6 win over New England.
Several former Mountaineers were listed as placed on Reserve/Injured List/Not Active: Tony Fields II of the Bears, Michael Coats Jr. of the Browns, Gary Jennings of the Chargers, Doug Nester of the Steelers, Garrett Greene of the Buccaneers and David Sills V of the Buccaneers.
In Other News...
West Virginia Faces A Bigger Defensive Concern Than One Bad Loss
West Virginias loss to Oklahoma State was not the kind you can pin on one bad quarter or one lopsided stat sheet. The Mountaineers actually had some encouraging numbers on defense and put up a strong rushing total, but the film still told a more troubling story. The new defensive scheme was supposed to help unsettle an opponent that likes to push the ball, yet Oklahoma State found too many ways to hit big plays and keep the pressure on.
What made the defeat sting was how often West Virginia let those chances slip through its hands. Missed tackles piled up, explosive plays came too easily, and the staff admitted the game plan simply did not work as intended. For a team trying to build momentum, the bigger concern is not just the result itself, but whether the defensive issues exposed in this one are tied to a deeper problem than a single rough afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Fans Get A Coal Rush Twist They Werent Expecting
West Virginias October 10 matchup with Arizona now has a start time and a national TV home, and it comes with an early kickoff that should give Mountaineer fans plenty of time to settle in. The Big 12 announced the game will kick at 12 p.m. ET in Morgantown and air on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max, adding another layer of visibility to a nonconference meeting that already carries some curiosity.
Arizona arrives with a little momentum after improving to 3-1 with a win over Washington State, while West Virginia will be trying to build on the familiarity of a series that has been played only once before. The Mountaineers won that 2021 meeting 31-26, and this years game lands in the middle of a busy stretch for the Wildcats, who will turn around and face Cincinnati in a late kickoff the following week. [Read more 🡒]
Rich Rod's Offense Is Giving West Virginia Fans A Real Concern
Rich Rodriguezs latest West Virginia offense is already drawing attention because it looks different from the ones fans remember from his earlier coaching stops. Through four games, the Mountaineers are throwing on just 22% of their offensive snaps, a notably lower rate than Rodriguez has typically used over the course of his career. For a coach long associated with pace and spread principles, that tilt toward the run has become one of the early-season talking points around the program.
The reasons are not hard to see, at least in broad terms. Pass protection has been an issue, and the receiver play has also factored into the equation, making it easier to understand why the offense has leaned so heavily on the ground game. Still, the bigger question hovering over West Virginia is whether a more balanced approach would make the attack harder to defend and more effective overall, even if the current numbers suggest Rodriguez is still searching for the right mix. [Read more 🡒]