West Virginia University head coach Rich Rodriguez / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI
A year ago, the Indiana Hoosiers came out of nowhere and quickly established themselves as one of the best teams in the country. Everything was going right for them until they ran into eventual national champion, Ohio State, and then Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff.
Curt Cignetti went 11-2 in his first year on the job with a team full of transfers, many of which he brought with him from James Madison.
It's easy to look at West Virginia and Rich Rodriguez as the candidate to be this year's Indiana, but winning 10+ games and making the playoff is not a fair expectation for this group.
Indiana played one ranked opponent in the regular season, Ohio State, and lost by 23. While they were dominant in their wins, they played a bunch of subpar teams, giving them one of the easiest schedules in all of college football.
Unfortunately, Rich Rod won't be treated to the same level of competition in year one. WVU will play three of the teams who are expected to compete for the Big 12 title - Arizona State, BYU, and Texas Tech, two of which are on the road. Indiana played all three of its non-conference games at home, none of which were against a Power Four opponent. WVU has a road trip to Ohio and plays Pitt in Week 3.
No. 2: Serious questions at QB
Nicco Marchiol and Jaylen Henderson will battle it out for the starting job, and regardless of who wins that competition, there's no guarantee the winner will be QB1 for the entire season. Two years ago, Rich Rod went back and forth between two guys before settling on Zion Webb halfway through the season.
If one truly separates, there will still be a ton of uncertainty because of the lack of experience. Sure, both Marchiol and Henderson have played a good deal of football at this level, but neither has the experience Kurtis Rourke had entering last season for the Hoosiers, who was a proven college starter.
No. 3: Larger roster turnover
The Hoosiers brought in 31 transfers in 2024, while watching 39 exit the program. The Mountaineers have over 50 (and counting) transfers coming into the program and saw over 50 transfer out. This is a massive roster flip and one that rivals what Deion Sanders did in his first year at Colorado more than it does 2024 Indiana.
That doesn't mean I expect WVU to go 4-8 like Sanders did in year one, but winning 10+ with this much change is a ridiculous expectation. WVU will have a new starting QB, virtually a whole new receiving corps, an entire new two deep on the offensive line, and essentially a brand new defense. Bringing all of these guys together from different programs and getting them to gel from the get-go is not going to be easy.
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