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2026 West Virginia

4–⁠3 (1–⁠3 Big 12), coached by Rich Rodriguez. The season’s Wikipedia article records 3–⁠3, over six games to the seven on file here.

Schedule and results

West Virginia in 2026, game by game: won vs. Coastal Carolina 31–24; won vs. UT Martin 52–7; won vs. No. 25 Virginia 38–27; lost vs. Oklahoma State 24–41; lost at Iowa State 42–45; lost vs. Arizona 31–52; won vs. Cincinnati 45–42+45−21Won 31–24 vs. Coastal Carolina+7Coastal CarolinaWon 52–7 vs. UT Martin+45UT MartinWon 38–27 vs. No. 25 Virginia+11No. 25 VirginiaLost 24–41 vs. Oklahoma State-17Oklahoma StateLost 42–45 at Iowa State-3Iowa StateLost 31–52 vs. Arizona-21ArizonaWon 45–42 vs. Cincinnati+3Cincinnati
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsCoastal CarolinaW 31–⁠2459%
Sep 12vsUT MartinW 52–⁠778%
Sep 19vs25VirginiaDuke’s Mayo ClassicW 38–⁠2736%
Sep 26vsOklahoma StateL 24–⁠4175%
Oct 3atIowa StateL 42–⁠4532%
Oct 10vsArizonaL 31–⁠5236%
Oct 17vsCincinnatiW 45–⁠4246%
Oct 24atTCUPreview27%
Nov 7atTexas TechPreview15%
Nov 14vsKansasPreview59%
Nov 21vsHoustonPreview35%
Nov 27atUtahPreview15%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

Record
4–⁠3
Conference
1–⁠3 14th in Big 12
AP now
Unranked
Points
263–⁠238
Coach
Rich Rodriguez
Elo
1473 +3 this season
SP+ rating
-0.6 No. 73 of 138; offense No. 36, defense No. 116, special teams No. 29
SRS
0.8 No. 64 of 138 in FBS
Returning
14% of last season’s EPA, No. 112 of 136
Recruiting class
No. 25 roster talent No. 49 in FBS
Defensive coordinator
Zac Alley
Offense
Spread option
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense49th of 138
  • Defense134th of 138
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted81st of 138
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted132nd of 138
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1542%1.3449th of 138
Defense0.3448%1.38134th of 138
Opponent-adjusted0.09 off
0.23 def		41% off
47% def		—81st off
132nd def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense46%13.2 yds30%3.1014%
Defense56%9.0 yds17%3.1020%
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.5own 2813% allowed
Defense4.1own 2815% caused

CORE rating -17.9, 131st of 138 (offense -2.0, defense 15.9).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsMichael Hawkins Jr. QB1,519 yds
Passing touchdownsMichael Hawkins Jr. QB10 TD
Rushing yardsCam Cook RB833 yds
Rushing touchdownsMichael Hawkins Jr. QB14 TD
Receiving yardsD.J. Epps WR556 yds
Receiving touchdownsD.J. Epps WR5 TD
TacklesIsaiah Patterson LB44 tkl
SacksAshton Woods LB2 sacks
InterceptionsAshton Woods LB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2026 class

Kevin Brown OT★★★★No. 76
Matt Sieg S★★★★No. 184
Amari Latimer RB★★★★No. 279
Vincent Smith CB★★★★No. 373
Jyron Hughley ATH★★★★No. 458

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2026 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.865
Running backs43.30.884
Receivers93.00.858
Offensive line63.20.880
Defensive line33.00.870
Linebackers43.00.861
Defensive backs73.30.876
Athletes and specialists23.50.882
Whole class373.10.871

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 123

The 2026 roster

123 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 35

The 2026 portal
Cam Cook RB★★★from Jacksonville State
Jacob Bradford S★★★from LSU
TaRon Francis WR★★★from LSU
Tobi Haastrup DE★★★from Oregon
Carsten Casady OT★★★from UConn
Devin Vass OL★★★from Kansas State
Ezekiel Durham-Campbell DE★★★from Coastal Carolina
Geimere Latimer CB★★★from Wisconsin
Harper Holloman DE★★★from Western Kentucky
John Neider WR★★★from UConn
Kameron Reddic S★★★from Stephen F. Austin
Michael Hawkins Jr. QB★★★from Oklahoma

And 23 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 51

Cam Vaughn WR★★★★to Miami
Ben Bogle LB★★★to Arkansas
Christian Hamilton WR★★★to Marshall
Curtis Jones Jr. DE★★★to Virginia Tech
Dawayne Galloway Jr. CB★★★to Akron
Donovan Haslam OL★★★to Tennessee
Hammond Russell IV DL★★★to Wisconsin
Jahiem White RB★★★to North Texas
Nicco Marchiol QB★★★to Northwestern
Brandon Homady OL★★★to North Carolina
Chris Fileppo S★★★to Penn State
Diore Hubbard RB★★★to Wyoming

And 39 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2026 Big 12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas Tech3–⁠06–⁠0
BYU3–⁠06–⁠0
Utah3–⁠06–⁠0
Houston3–⁠16–⁠1
Arizona2–⁠15–⁠1
Oklahoma State2–⁠14–⁠2
Baylor2–⁠14–⁠2
Cincinnati1–⁠24–⁠2
Kansas State1–⁠24–⁠2
Iowa State1–⁠23–⁠3
TCU1–⁠23–⁠3
UCF1–⁠23–⁠3
Arizona State1–⁠23–⁠3
West Virginia1–⁠34–⁠3
Kansas0–⁠32–⁠4
Colorado0–⁠32–⁠4

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.