West Virginia’s latest Saturday ended the same way the last three have: with disappointment and a defense that couldn’t keep up. The Mountaineers fell to Arizona, 52-31, despite piling up 500 yards of total offense - 300 of them on the ground - a combination that has only ended in defeat four times in program history.
And the grades back up what the score showed. The offense had some bright spots, but the defensive side was hit-or-miss at best and flat-out rough in key spots.
Prince Strachan was the clear standout among the receivers, earning a 77.5 from Pro Football Focus and flashing in a way he hadn’t yet this season. That was about the only encouraging note for the pass-catching group, though. The rest of the wideouts struggled to create space, which only made life tougher for Mike Hawkins Jr.
At running back, Cam Cook posted a 71.2, while Amari Latimer led the group at 76.0. Cook’s day still came with two fumbles he’d surely want back, but he ran hard and did the sort of work WVU has come to expect from him. Lawrence Autry checked in at 57.1, and Chris Talley at 51.6.
Up front, the offensive line was solid without exactly taking over the game. Kevin Brown graded out at 68.8, Wes King at 64.7, Amare Grayson at 63.3, Carsten Casady at 62.8, and Nick Krahe at 59.8. Josh Aisosa, Cam Griffin and Malik Agbo each landed at 60.0.
The real trouble showed up on defense, where the grades tell the same story as the tape. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita was pressured just seven times, nowhere near enough to make the day difficult for him.
Nate Gabriel led the defensive line at 73.8, with Corey McIntyre Jr. at 69.8 and Emerson Joy at 64.0. But the unit didn’t get enough from everyone behind them, and depth remains an issue.
Zeke Durham-Campbell had the roughest outing of the defensive linemen, earning a 33.3. It was easily his worst-graded game of the season, and with the line already thin, that kind of drop-off is hard to absorb.
The edge group had mixed results, with David Afogho leading the way at 73.7. Harper Holloman posted a 61.1, Jeremiah Johnson a 60.0, and Tobi Haastrup a 47.7.
At linebacker, Cam Torbor graded at 64.0, Ashton Woods at 61.6, Isaiah Patterson at 59.2, and Ben Cutter at 50.8.
The secondary also had a day it would rather forget. Andrew Powdrell was the best-graded safety at 74.0, followed by Kameron Reddic at 61.6, Kamari Wilson at 60.9, JaCorey Thomas at 58.8, Matt Sieg at 49.4, and Da’Mare Williams at 45.7.
At corner, Keyshawn Robinson posted a 60.8 and Chams Diagne a 58.9, but Jason Chambers came in at 31.8. The corners allowed just one pass breakup all day, and it came from Chambers.
That was the only one a WVU corner managed, which says plenty about how the afternoon went.
In Other News...
West Virginia Just Got A Brutal Early 2026 Forecast
West Virginias outlook for 2026 is already drawing a cool reception from ESPNs Football Power Index, which sees a long climb ahead for the Mountaineers. The model pegs them at roughly 4.4 wins and 7.6 losses, a forecast that suggests a season spent fighting uphill rather than contending near the top of the Big 12.
The projection is even less encouraging when it comes to the bigger goals. ESPN gives West Virginia only a 14.6% shot at reaching six wins, while the chances of taking the conference or reaching the College Football Playoff are essentially nonexistent. The game-by-game forecast also paints a matchup-by-matchup picture of where the obstacles are likely to come, with historical context adding to the sense that the schedule is not likely to offer much relief. [Read more 🡒]
Rich Rodriguez Sounds Off As WVUs Biggest Problem Keeps Growing
West Virginias season has reached a familiar and frustrating point in Big 12 play, with the offense doing enough to keep games competitive while the defense keeps surrendering too many big plays and too much yardage. The imbalance has left Rich Rodriguez with a team that can move the ball but has not been able to put together the kind of complete performance needed to break through in league play.
Rodriguez has made clear his frustration with how little progress the defense has shown, even as the staff continues to work at fixing it. For a team still searching for its first Big 12 win, the issue has gone from a weekly concern to the defining problem of the season, and there is no easy answer until the Mountaineers start getting more stops. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Gets Early Look At A Tricky Trip To TCU
West Virginia already has a clear picture of what awaits in Fort Worth later this month, with the Big 12 setting the Mountaineers Week 8 matchup at TCU for a 12 p.m. ET kickoff on Oct. 24 and putting the game on television. It is an early start for a road test that has often carried some weight in the Big 12 pecking order, and it gives WVU a chance to start thinking ahead to a place where it has been able to find some success before.
TCU comes into Week 7 at 2-3, which makes the trip a little harder to pin down than the records might suggest. The Horned Frogs have been solid on defense but have had trouble getting enough going on offense, while West Virginia has the edge in the all-time series at 8-6 and has won six of the last nine meetings, including several encouraging results in Fort Worth. [Read more 🡒]