West Virginia’s second win of the season came with a crowded sideline and a long snap sheet.
The Mountaineers had 115 players in uniform Saturday for their 52-7 home win over UT Martin, the Ohio Valley Conference’s preseason favorite. With that victory, WVU moved to 24-0 against FCS teams and improved to 2-0 for the first time since opening the 2018 season with wins over Tennessee and Youngstown State. That year’s final non-conference game, a road trip to NC State, was canceled because of Hurricane Florence.
The dress list reflected how many bodies WVU had available. The Mountaineers listed 53 players on offense, 55 on defense and seven for special teams, nearly the same setup they carried into last week’s season-opening win over Coastal Carolina. Everyone who dressed for that opener was also in uniform again Saturday, with two exceptions: nickel/safety Emory Snyder and offensive lineman Jonas Muya were on the dress list but did not dress, leaving 113 players technically eligible.
There were a few other roster notes from the first two games. Defensive end Darius Wiley started against Coastal Carolina before suffering a season-ending leg injury on the first play of the fourth quarter, and he will miss the rest of the season.
Freshman LaMarcus Dillard was on the dress list for the opener but did not suit up; against UT Martin, he worked with the second string. Freshman running back Chris Talley, who hurt his hamstring in the opener, missed a second straight game.
There is no dress list limit for non-conference games. Big 12 play is different, though: visiting teams can bring only 74 players, while home rosters are uncapped.
By the numbers gathered and combined for the game, 95 players saw action Saturday, a jump from 63 in the opener. Pro Football Focus tracked 50 players on offense, 32 on defense and 13 on special teams, compared with 21, 30 and 12 last week.
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 🡒]