West Virginia’s second home game of the season brings an FCS opponent to Morgantown, with UT Martin set to visit at 1 p.m. Saturday in week two. The Mountaineers enter as heavy favorites, sitting around 39.5-point chalk depending on the sportsbook, and ESPN’s numbers give WVU a 97.1% shot to win.
UT Martin comes in with some real FCS credibility behind it. Jason Simpson has been at the controls since 2006 and has built a 130-97 record in that span, with the Skyhawks finishing in the top 25 in three of the last five seasons.
They went 6-6 in 2025 and are 1-1 so far this year, dropping the opener to Central Arkansas 36-24 before blasting Chicago State by 35 points. That resume has them in the mix for another FCS playoff run.
On offense, the quarterback situation has already shifted once. Redshirt freshman Tate Surber took over after Julian Calvez opened the season as the starter, and Surber is the likely choice again Saturday after guiding the Skyhawks past Chicago State.
In that win, he completed nearly 70 percent of his throws for 222 with an interception. At 6-foot-3, he profiles more as a pocket passer than a runner.
The backfield is built around a split workload between Tommy Ansley and Chris Franklin. Ansley, listed at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, is averaging 6.9 yards per carry and is the likelier option near the goal line.
Franklin is smaller and is averaging 4.2 yards per tote. Calvez can add a scrambling element if he’s involved, but the main quarterback picture points toward Surber.
Through the air, Kaleb Washington is the primary name to know. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound receiver can line up outside or in the slot, though most of his work comes on the perimeter.
He has been targeted 15 times, catching 6 passes for 81 yards. He brings some run-after-catch ability, even if he doesn’t separate like a polished route runner.
Another player to keep an eye on is Makhia Sherrard, who leads the offense with 96 receiving yards and is most dangerous once the ball is in his hands.
Defensively, UT Martin has already shown two very different faces. The Skyhawks are allowing 21.5 points per game, but that number comes from a 36-point opening loss and a second game in which they gave up only 7. That’s the kind of boom-or-bust profile West Virginia has to sort through.
Sophomore safety Trey Cotton stands out as the defense’s Swiss Army knife. He’s played all over the field, logged a team-high 112 defensive snaps, and already has 12 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.
Up front, sophomore Duston Chavis is the anchor. The 260-pound lineman is on the field almost constantly and can move around the front, lining up as a 5-tech, a 4i or a 9-wide EDGE.
He leads the defense with a 78.9 PFF rating and has added 3 quarterback pressures and 4 solo stops.
There’s a clear thread running through this UT Martin roster: continuity. The coach believes he has a few real weapons on defense, and most of the notable pieces are returners.
As for the matchup itself, UT Martin looks capable of being a top-25 FCS team again, but there are still some questions to answer, especially with an inexperienced quarterback. West Virginia just faced a similar kind of passer and still allowed nearly 400 passing yards to Deuce Bailey, but that kind of performance doesn’t appear likely to repeat here. The Mountaineers should be able to lean on the ground game, control the tempo and move to 2-0.
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WVUs Bowl Picture Is Already Creating An Early Debate
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Various media outlets have already slotted WVU into different postseason spots, which is usually a sign that the seasons middle ground can look a lot different depending on who is doing the projecting. The Big 12s bowl structure adds another layer to the debate, and West Virginias history in bowl games only makes the discussion more familiar for a fan base that knows how quickly these predictions can change. [Read more 🡒]