West Virginia’s trip to Charlotte carries a little extra weight, and Owen Schmitt isn’t shy about saying so. If the Mountaineers leave with a win, it would send them to a 3-0 start and include a victory over a ranked team - the kind of result that would get West Virginia noticed again after years of being off the college football map.
Schmitt laid out his weekly read on the matchup during “The Schmitt List” on In the Gun, where he breaks down what Rich Rodriguez’s pregame message is likely to be, works through the X’s and O’s, and delivers his signature “violence meter” and gut guarantee. This week, his message was plain.
“This is where the birth of the hard edge of the program is born. This is the season for us.
My gut guarantee is - play 60 minutes of playing like your hair is on fire, West Virginia hard edge football, and we come out of this game. Good, clean, smart, fast, fun football, and we will be victorious.
We have to play our brand of football. That means on offense, we've got to wear them out.
This week it matters the most because this, to me, could evolve our season into a great season, or this could propel us into a very mediocre, kind of up-and-down deal. This is where we get our confidence as a team.”
That’s the heartbeat of the week for West Virginia: not just getting through Virginia, but using the game to set a tone. The Mountaineers know what comes next if they handle business - a Big 12 opener at home under the lights against Oklahoma State, with the fan base riding a wave of energy that has been missing for years.
After that comes a trip to Ames to face an Iowa State team that everyone believes will finish dead last in the league, followed by a two-game homestand in Morgantown. So the path can swing fast from there.
A win could send West Virginia on a serious run. A loss would leave the Mountaineers with plenty of work to do and several difficult games still ahead. Either way, this one won’t decide the season, but it will say a lot about where the team stands and where it’s headed.
In Other News...
Tony Elliott Just Confirmed How Dangerous West Virginia Really Looked
Mike Hawkins Jr. gave West Virginia the kind of opener that can change the mood around a program in a hurry. In a 38-27 win over No. 25 Virginia, the Mountaineers quarterback hit 10 of 17 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns, then added 123 rushing yards and three more scores to power an offense that looked far more explosive than many expected entering the night.
Virginia coach Tony Elliott came away impressed enough to say so, and his comments only sharpened the sense that West Virginias defense under Zac Alley was part of the story too. Elliott pointed to how the Mountaineers controlled the game and took away quarterback Beau Pribulas legs, a detail that matters because it suggests West Virginia was not just winning with one hot hand, but showing the kind of structure that can make opponents uncomfortable for a long time. [Read more 🡒]
WVUs Upset Win Looks Even Bigger After What The Grades Show
West Virginias upset of No. 25 Virginia already looked like a tone-setting win, but the postgame grades gave it even more weight. The Mountaineers handled business in a 38-27 victory, and the performance sheet from Pro Football Focus offered a clearer picture of why the result felt so convincing: quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. was graded as the highest-rated quarterback in the country through Week 3.
The win also featured strong work from the other side of the ball, with linebacker Ashton Woods and cornerback Nick Taylor drawing especially good marks. For a West Virginia team trying to build something early in the season, those kinds of individual showings matter as much as the final score, because they hint at a defense and a quarterback room that may be settling in at the right time. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Looks Tougher Than Expected But One Concern Still Lingers
West Virginia came away from its latest game looking a little sturdier than many expected, with a calm, effective quarterback helping steady things and a physical presence on defense giving the Mountaineers a harder edge. Taylor stood out on that side of the ball, and Ashton Woods has quietly put together a strong run over the last two weeks, giving the defense some real momentum as the season moves forward.
The one area still worth watching is up front, where the offensive line had its roughest stretches. A true freshman on the line allowed four pressures, a reminder that development can show up quickly when the competition gets tighter, even if the long-term outlook remains encouraging. For West Virginia, the encouraging part is clear enough, but the next step is making sure that growth in the trenches catches up with the rest of the roster. [Read more 🡒]