West Virginia made quick work of UT-Martin in Week Two, and Rich Rodriguez liked plenty of what he saw on offense. The Mountaineers were efficient, especially with the first group, and they never let the FCS opponent get comfortable.
But Rodriguez didn’t leave the game talking like everything was clean. Even with a shutout on the scoreboard, he said the defense was not as sharp as it needed to be.
“I thought we were efficient offensively. Pretty sharp.
The first group especially. Defensively, even though they got a shutout, I didn't think we were sharp defensively..... it seemed like we were a little bit off defensively.
There are a lot to work on. Still, the best you can be after two games is 2-0.”
Rodriguez said one of the biggest positives was getting a lot of younger players onto the field. That was part of the plan, and the way the game unfolded gave him the chance to do it.
“That was one of the things I was hoping we would be able to do is to play a lot of guys because they work real hard. And we were able to do that.”
He also came away feeling the offense took a step forward, while the defense still has work to do. He said he’ll need to study the film before getting a full read, but he expects Coach Alley and the staff to clean up the mistakes.
“I think we made steps on offense. I'm not sure we made steps on defense.
I'll have to watch the film. Coach Alley and them will get those corrected.”
At quarterback, Michael Hawkins drew strong praise. Rodriguez said Hawkins handled the offense well, showed he could make plays with his legs, and looked comfortable operating the attack.
“I thought Mike played really well. He's obviously got the ability to make plays with his feet.
I thought he saw the field well. I thought he was really sharp.
The more experience he gets with the offense, the more comfortable he will be.”
Rodriguez also addressed the rest of the quarterback room. He said Scotty is trusted because he knows the offense and competes hard, and he wanted to get young quarterback Jyron Hughley some snaps as well.
“Scotty, we trust him. He knows the offense pretty well and he's a really competitive guy.
We wanted to see the young guy, Jyron Hughley, in there. He's got a great skill set.
It was kind of an ugly touchdown, but he's got the skills.”
When the conversation turned to explosive plays, Rodriguez said it begins with the run game. He had expected West Virginia to pile up several hundred rushing yards, though the Mountaineers didn’t break as many long runs as he anticipated. Still, he called it a solid effort up front and said the team would move quickly to the next challenge.
“It starts with the run game. We thought we should be able to run for a few hundred yards.
We didn't get as many big runs as I thought we could get. It was a solid showing upfront.
We'll hit this film pretty quick and then get ready for the big game next week.”
West Virginia will leave Morgantown next week, but Rodriguez said the travel routine won’t change much. What he does dislike is the long wait before a night game.
“It really doesn't change your prep at all. Friday, we'll travel.
It's a night game, and we have to wait around all day. I hate that.”
He also touched on Powdrell’s green light for a punt block, making clear that the permission was about making a play on the ball, not a reckless collision.
“Not a green light to run into the guy. He's got a green light if he blocks it..... if you block a punt, the odds of you winning the game are like eighty percent. Something crazy like that.”
Rodriguez finished by circling back to the defense, especially the first half. He said the unit was out of position at times, allowed some third downs, and never forced a three-and-out. Even though UT-Martin finished with zero points, Rodriguez pointed out that a penalty erased one score, a missed field goal helped keep the shutout intact, and a fumble also went West Virginia’s way.
“I just didn't think we played that well. It seemed like we were out of position a time or two.
We gave up some third downs. I don't think we had any three and outs.
We didn't get our hands on the ball. They had zero [points], but they had one taken away from them on a penalty, missed a field goal, they fumbled.
We have to be better about that moving forward. We got to fix what we did wrong today.”
In Other News...
WVUs 2-0 Start Feels Real In One Area And Risky In Another
West Virginias 2-0 start comes with the kind of early-season contrast that usually tells you plenty about where a team is headed. The Mountaineers have not opened a year this well since 2018, and the biggest reason is obvious enough: the offense looks far more dangerous, averaging 41.5 points a game. Michael Hawkins Jr. has given the unit a lift with strong work both throwing and running, and Jack Cassidy has been flawless so far, which is the sort of quiet stability teams love to have when games tighten up later in the fall.
The uneasy part is on the other side of the ball, where West Virginia has had trouble getting off the field on third downs. Even so, the defense has kept a valuable habit from last season by continuing to create turnovers, which has helped soften some of the strain when drives start to extend. For a team trying to prove this fast start is more than a good two weeks, the offense looks ready for the moment. The question is whether the defense can match it when opponents start making those long possessions count. [Read more 🡒]
WVU's Comfortable Win Revealed A Depth Advantage Fans Needed To See
West Virginias season opener against UT Martin turned into the kind of game a staff loves for reasons that go beyond the final score. Once the Mountaineers had built a comfortable lead, they started working through the roster in a hurry, getting second-, third- and even fourth-string players onto the field early in the third quarter. In all, 82 players took the field, giving a long list of young Mountaineers a first real chance to show what they can do in a live setting.
For a team that has spent camp sorting out depth across the roster, that kind of early rotation matters. It gave fans a clearer look at how much experience West Virginia can call on behind its top lineup, and it also created a long participation report worth studying by position. The bigger takeaway, though, is still sitting just beneath the surface: games like this can reveal a lot about who is ready to help now and who is still a step away, even if the full answer will take more Saturdays to sort out. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Finally Gets A Virginia Rematch With Something To Prove
West Virginia and Virginia are finally set to renew a series that has been dormant for 24 years, and both teams arrive unbeaten at 2-0. It gives the matchup a little extra edge beyond the regional familiarity, especially with the Mountaineers carrying some early-season momentum into a meeting that will feel a lot bigger than a routine nonconference game.
For West Virginia, this is also a chance to keep building toward a milestone start, with the program eyeing a perfect opening stretch it has not reached in a long while. The historical backdrop only adds to the appeal, since the past results between these programs have given each side a little something to remember, and the radio details make clear this is one of those old-school games that still carries enough name value to travel. [Read more 🡒]