Rich Rodriguez is sitting on the edge of a milestone that would put him in rare company, but the path to get there is anything but simple.
If West Virginia opens the 2026 season with six straight wins, Rodriguez’s 200th career victory would come against Arizona, the school he coached from 2012 to 2017. Only 100 coaches in college football history have reached that number, and if he gets there, he would become the third West Virginia head coach on that list, alongside Bobby Bowden and Don Nehlen.
That kind of climb would also add another line to Rodriguez’s WVU resume. He already moved past Dana Holgorsen for second place on the Mountaineers’ all-time wins list last year, and he’s expected to stay there, since Nehlen still has 85 more wins than Rodriguez. Had Rodriguez remained at West Virginia all along, he would have passed Nehlen and built a sizable lead at the top.
The schedule gives WVU a shot, at least on paper. Four of those first six games are at Mountaineer Field, one is a neutral-site matchup that West Virginia fans are likely to turn into a home environment, and one is a road game against a first-year head coach at Iowa State.
Still, a perfect start feels like a tall order.
This offense has the pieces to become one of the Big 12’s most dangerous units, but it won’t click instantly. Even with a better quarterback situation, more depth at running back and wide receiver, and a much-improved offensive line, the group will need time to settle in and find its rhythm.
The first two games look manageable. Coastal Carolina and UT Martin do not appear to be major threats.
Virginia is where things get serious. It’s one of the most experienced teams in the country, and if West Virginia can get through that one, a 6-0 start suddenly looks realistic.
And if that happens, the 200th win won’t be the only headline. WVU would be sitting inside the top 25 and right in the thick of the Big 12 race, which would qualify as a major surprise to just about everybody.
In Other News...
Bob Huggins Documentary Premiere Will Stir Mixed Emotions For WVU Fans
A new Bob Huggins documentary is set to give West Virginia fans another look at one of the most complicated figures in program history, with Beyond the Bench - The Bob Huggins Legacy premiering Aug. 7 in Morgantown. The film is built around Huggins coaching career and personal life, and it leans on interviews with former players to revisit the run that made him such a defining presence in Mountaineers basketball.
For WVU fans, the reaction figures to be mixed, which is probably fitting for a coach whose legacy still carries both pride and pain. The documentary also touches on Huggins work in cancer research fundraising, adding another layer to a story that is bigger than wins and losses, even as the premiere itself offers different ways to take it in for those who want to be there. [Read more 🡒]
Why WVU Fans Are Finally Being Asked To Believe Again
West Virginia football has spent too long living through its worst seven-year stretch since the 1970s, and the result has been a fan base that has had to lower its expectations far too often. But there is a different tone around the program now, with university president Michael T. Benson and athletic director Wren Baker both pushing to strengthen the foundation, grow revenue and give the team more resources to compete at a higher level.
The on-field case for optimism is not built on wishful thinking, either. The roster has some promising young pieces and returning starters, and the staff sees a path to something sturdier than a quick fix. What makes this feel different is the sense that West Virginia is being constructed for more than one season at a time, with enough talent and continuity to make the next step feel possible even before the final piece is in place. [Read more 🡒]
Four Under-The-Radar Mountaineers Are Pushing WVU's Two-Deep Hard
West Virginias two-deep is still taking shape, but a handful of under-the-radar players are making the staff think twice about how settled those spots really are. The group includes a transfer defensive lineman with a chance to carve out an early role, a linebacker whose versatility could matter if the room gets thin, a safety who brings flexibility, and a junior college slot receiver trying to force his way into the mix.
For a team that will always need dependable depth, especially on defense, those kinds of pushes matter as much as the names already penciled in on the first line. The interesting part now is not just who has the best rsum, but how West Virginia chooses to use each player if their progress keeps trending up, because a few of them are already close enough to the rotation that the margin between backup and contributor may not stay wide for long. [Read more 🡒]