What Did Kansas HC Lance Leipold Say About Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia?

West Virginia fans may bask in the win over Pitt for a long time, maybe at least four years until the series starts back up again, but it’s time for the team to move on. With conference play meaning more in this era, Rich Rodriguez now needs to get his team refocused as they open up Big 12 play on the road against Kansas.

Led by Lance Leipold, the Jayhawks are also 2-1, granted they are coming off a bye after losing their non conference rivalry game. But no matter what’s happened to this point, Kansas will be a test for the Mountaineers.

To learn what WVU’s upcoming opponent thinks of Rodriguez and West Virginia, let’s look at what Leipold had to say during his weekly press conference.

Leipold, like many of his peers often do, started off by complimenting Rodriguez and his legacy in college football.

“He’s been an excellent coach throughout the whole career. You can see that in the offensive philosophy. It’ll be a big test for us,” said Leipold.

It’s not just about resume that makes Leipold respect Rodriguez. He knows he still has plenty up his sleeve that may not be on any film from the past 30 years. Leipold even discussed trying to prepare against a team so willing to rotate their quarterbacks at any point.

“You try to get an idea of what they’re going to do with those quarterbacks. You need to find out what each one of them does and what throws they’re most comfortable making. Some of those will start to show tendencies,” Leipold explained.

And even though the 2025 Mountaineers have a whole new coaching staff and roster this year, Leipold still touched on the recent matchups between West Virginia and Kansas.

“It’s been close games, overtime games [against WVU since 2021]. It was our last game in ’21, and that was as we were starting to make noticeable improvement on the field. To open up conference play at home and have a chance to play against a team like this is exciting, and I think our guys understand that we need to play our best to have a chance to win.”

Leipold has a 24-29 record with a 1-1 mark in bowl games as Kansas’ head coach since taking over in 2021. The Jayhawks were 5-7 in 2024.

For related content, WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez, DC Zac Alley and players recapped the Pitt win and previewed Kansas earlier in the week.