Opinion
Takeaways: Rich Rodriguez Got Lucky Against Pitt, Only One Unit Ready for Big 12 Play
Rich Rodriguez and his West Virginia Mountaineers can breathe a sigh of relief. They beat Pitt. And while the conference schedule is what’s most important in this era of college football, beating Pitt was just simply a must when taking into account the significance of the rivalry and the emotions behind Rodriguez’s first encounter with Pitt since 2007.
Rodriguez got as much revenge on Pitt as will probably ever be possible and now he can move on and attempt to continue proving doubters wrong the rest of the season.
With all of that said, it’s time to actually dissect the game and look at the state of the WVU football team after their miraculous comeback win over Pitt.
Since there are too many to even list, below are just some of my takeaways from the 2025 Backyard Brawl:
Offense
- The only hope West Virginia’s offense has at being good enough to contend in the Big 12 is with Nicco Marchiol at quarterback.
- Scotty Fox is far from ready and Jaylen Henderson is still unable to be effective throwing the ball.https://twitter.com/MikeAsti11/status/1967596490496303246
- Even though Marchiol is the only hope and the by far best option on the roster, one of his main issues is he still holds the ball way too long. He often tries to wait for a particular receiver to be wide open, only to have pass rush crashes down around him.
- Rodriguez got lucky that WVU won despite his quarterback shuffling. He won’t be as lucky if that same scenario happens again.
- Rodney Gallagher made the most of an increased role against Pitt. It’s possible Rodriguez utilized the former Western Pennsylvania top recruit more than he had in either of WVU’s prior games to needle Pat Narduzzi. But whatever the reason, Gallagher can handle more targets and showed his true athleticism.
- Cam Vaughn is a playmaker and has the ability to draw penalties. When in doubt, go deep to Vaughn and there’s a solid chance at flag for either interference or holding ends up benefiting the Mountaineers.
- Tye Edwards proved Rodriguez right when it comes to the running back depth.
- After dropping passes his way at Ohio, tight end Grayson Barnes bailed Marchiol out on one of the most important throws of the year and may earn more chances to help in the passing game moving forward.
Depth
- WVU’s defense is for real. Zac Alley‘s unit has proven itself and then some at this point.
- The aggressiveness of the defense will keep the Mountaineers in games all season.
- The defensive line deserves every bit of their Big 12 award for the six sacks generated against Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein.
- While the defense still relies on its strong pass rush, the secondary also had a solid performance against the Panthers. However, an effective pass rush makes life easier on the rest of the defense, especially the secondary. More still needs to be seen from the defensive backs when they face the top quarterbacks inside the Big 12.
- If West Virginia keeps this up, Alley has a serious case for national recognition and will put himself in line to be coveted for open head coaching positions across the country.
Special teams
- Oliver Straw is one of the best punters in college football. Few are as consistent. Seriously.
What’s next?
For a sense of humble pie, oddsmakers don’t appear impressed by West Virginia’s Backyard Brawl win over Pitt.
And at the open of a new week, the Mountaineers are once again predicted to lose in convincing fashion. Both DraftKings and FanDuel have Rich Rodriguez’s team as a double digit underdog to Kansas.
West Virginia is currently +11.5 on DraftKings and +12.5 on FanDuel.
Through three games, the Jayhawks share WVU’s 2-1 record at the start of Big 12 play. West Virginia has wins over Robert Morris and Pitt and a loss at Ohio.
Kansas, coming off a bye following their loss to Missouri, their out of conference rival, has wins over Fresno State and Wagner.
WVU beat Kansas 32-28 in a back and forth thriller last season. Rodney Gallagher caught the game-winning touchdown for the Mountaineers.
West Virginia and Kansas will air nationally on FS1 and kickoff from Lawrence at 6 pm ET.
Find more coverage of Rich Rodriguez and the WVU football program at WV Sports Now.
