Every new season brings talk of underdogs and dark horses. Last year in the Big 12, who really thought Arizona State would win the championship? This year, the conference might see another surprise team. After a tough 6-7 season, West Virginia needed a boost, and they found it in Rich Rodriguez. The 62-year-old head coach is back in Morgantown to turn things around for a program that hasn’t had back-to-back winning seasons since 2018 and hasn’t reached the Big 12 championship game since 2012. Could 2025 be the year?

The pressure is definitely on, but Rich Rodriguez seems ready for it. With his many moves in the transfer portal, he’s already hitting the ground running. Can he handle the challenges and lead West Virginia to success? After all, his first time coaching at West Virginia was a huge success, and he aims to do that again.

From 2001 to 2007, he had a 60-26 record, taking over from Hall of Famer Don Nehlen. With stars like quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton, he won four Big East titles in five years, including that famous Sugar Bowl upset against Georgia in 2005. So this time, Rodriguez isn’t taking it easy. His goal is very clear: “Our expectation is to win and compete for the championship every year, including the first one.”

Tom Fornelli now sees WVU as a Big 12 dark horse not just because of Rodriguez’s resume. “Obviously there is the juice and the excitement from Rich Rod coming back. But kind of like with my Virginia pick, like schedule-wise, it’s not, you know, it’s a Big 12 schedule that’s got some of the better teams or some of the expected better teams,” Tom Fornelli said, speaking on the Cover 3 Podcast. But the reason he picked them is…

“The one thing I’m looking at here is that of the giant recruiting class—tell me if this sounds familiar—a new coach comes in, brings in a ton of recruits, a lot of them from his former G5 school, which was a competitive program within its conference. That program’s named Indiana, and it was Curt Cignetti, and we saw what the Hoosiers did,” Fornelli said. We all know how Curt Cignetti turned things around for the Hoosiers last season with an 11-2 finish. And now, Rodriguez’s presence could do the same for West Virginia.

“Rich Rod’s coming to West Virginia, and he’s bringing a whole lot of Jacksonville State boys with him, so there’s already familiarity with the coaching staff, with the players, with the playbook, and all that kind of stuff,” Tom added. Rodriguez has already made their wide receiver group stronger with Jordan McCants, Cam Vaughn, and Jarod Bowie from Jacksonville State. Besides them, he also brought in players like quarterback Jaylen Henderson from Texas A&M, running back Jaylan Knighton from SMU, tight end Grayson Barnes from Northern Illinois, and offensive lineman Wyatt Minor from Youngstown State. But the past?

We know Rich Rodriguez’s time at Michigan didn’t end well, with a 15-22 record before he left in 2010. Yet, with a team and staff he knows this time, things might change for him. Tom Fornelli added, “Now I know he didn’t win enough at Michigan, but he’s never had bad teams. So I think in this conference, with this coach, at this time, there is an opportunity for the Mountaineers to just kind of sneak up into the top—just like Arizona State did—and then at the end of the year, find themselves going to the Big 12 Championship.”

However, their schedule could make things tricky. West Virginia starts its season against Robert Morris, an FCS team they should easily beat. Their non-conference games also include a tough road trip to Ohio before the intense Backyard Brawl against Pitt. Big 12 play features road games against Kansas, UCF, and Houston, which will be different kinds of challenges. Not to mention, home games against Utah, Colorado, and TCU are critical for their conference hopes.

The toughest games are later in the season. WVU travels to Provo for a key Friday night game against a strong BYU team, then faces the defending Big 12 champion Arizona State in Tempe—a game in November that could decide their season. The season ends against Texas Tech, a strong contender for the Big 12 title, which will be a final test for Rodriguez’s return to major college football. And his defensive mind is already making things easier for him.

Zac Alley building the ‘right’ defense for Rich Rodriguez

Zac Alley, who was Jacksonville State’s defensive coordinator under Rodriguez from 2022-23, later joined his mentor, Brent Venables, at Oklahoma as co-defensive coordinator. He’s done great there, leading a powerful Sooner defense. Oklahoma was third in the country in defensive touchdowns and in the top 30 for most key defensive stats. Alley’s defense was always excellent, from forcing fumbles to stopping the run, proving his coaching skills are very strong.

West Virginia’s 33-year-old defensive coordinator is leading the team’s defense as they rebuild. Coming from Jacksonville State, he took over a defense that was constantly changing, facing players leaving and transferring from day one. His way of judging players is simple: the game film shows everything, and effort is most important. “If we watch a transfer portal guy, you can watch his highlights or you can go watch him play an entire game,” Alley said. “And you go watch him play an entire game and realize a guy like Fred Perry … every single play, everything he’s got is going to come out of him.”

Fred Perry, a linebacker who played very well for Alley at JSU, shows this never-give-up attitude. For Alley, passion is more important than a player’s physical size or how they fit into a scheme. “Those types of things where you can tell—does this dude have that fire in them to be a guy that’s going to want to come in and freaking dominate? Or is he going to be just ‘I’m O.K. with being average?’” Alley said.

In Zac Alley’s system, speed is a top priority. “We need guys that can athletically change direction and run in a way that they have a chance to be successful,” he emphasized. Alley doesn’t just watch tape; he digs deep to find players who fit their locker room. West Virginia’s defense is now demanding players who will set the tone, not just fill spots. With key players and a tough staff, it’s time to watch Rich Rodriguez’s season begin.