Takeaways: WVU Football Must Be More Disciplined, Big Numbers Overshadowed Mistakes

WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez sent a message to his team after their 45-3 win in the 2025 season opener. They won’t beat anyone else on their schedule playing the way they did on Saturday.

While a win is a win, West Virginia fans had to endure a rough first half that saw the Mountaineers only up 10-3 on an FCS opponent. WVU made mistake after mistake and coughed up fumble after fumble – five to be exact, losing four of them – in a miserable first half against Robert Morris.

“Well, I’d like to say that was a typical first game, but I don’t know if I’ve ever had or seen three fumbles in four plays. That’s what I think we had. I know we had three straight fumbles. So, we obviously didn’t play well at all in the first half. West Virginia beating West Virginia,” said Rodriguez immediately following WVU’s Week 1 win.

WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez looks on after winning the 2025 season opener – his first win as West Virginia’s head coach since 2007. (WVSN photo by William Wotring)

“There were some things we did okay, but you know, obviously not playing like we should’ve and the second half went like it should’ve. So we’ll take the win, learn from it. Obviously, there are a lot of things to clean up and fix, but there are a lot of guys playing for the first time and there are a lot of things we’ve got to do as a staff to be better for next week. We’ll take the win and grow from it and see what happens next.”

Below are my takeaways from the RMU game. It’s safe to say WVU will need to be far more disciplined and play a much cleaner game or they’ll likely suffer their first loss on the road at Ohio.

• The fumbles are most concerning because they weren’t caused by devastating hits. Robert Morris did not cause WVU to fumble.
• Jahiem White ran for 93 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns, but did so with his longest run of the day only going for 19 yards. Rodriguez mentioned his disappointment in, not in White, but in the offensive line. WVU’s line must make White’s life as easy as possible and get him out in open space.
• Cam Vaughn put up monster numbers, catching seven passes for 126 yards and a 46-yard touchdown. However, he also fumbled on a play that appeared as if he was trying to do too much. He needs to take what he can get and wait for a deep ball opportunity, but not ruin a drive getting overly excited.
• Nicco Marchiol was extremely efficient – he completed 85% of his passes for 224 yards through the air. But most importantly in Rodriguez’s offense, he ran for 56 yards and scored on the ground.
• WVU’s defense looked physical and didn’t give up any big plays. They played with an aggression that should make defensive coordinator Zac Alley proud. With that said, it’s impossible to truly know how they’ll be the rest of the season based on one overpowering showing against an FCS team employing a new quarterback and dealing with their own offensive shortcomings.

Kickoff for the West Virginia Mountaineers (1-0) at the Ohio Bobcats (0-1) from Athens, Ohio is set for 4 pm ET.

Find more coverage of the WVU football program at WV Sports Now.

For a related story, Rich Rodriguez received the game ball for his first win as West Virginia’s head coach since 2007.