WVU Football Lands on Misery Index Weeks After Being ‘On the Rise’

To no surprise, Rich Rodriguez’s 2026 WVU football team has quickly transitioned from being a program one the rise after a Week 3 win over Virginia to one that belongs on high on the misery index following three-straight conference losses.

And that’s literal in the sense that Yahoo Sports writer Dan Wolken placed West Virginia on his latest edition of his Misery Index. Picking WVU as his Big 12 representative, Wolken elaborated further below:

“West Virginia might just retain this spot until its defense gives up fewer than 40 points. The way things are going, it might be awhile. This week’s 52-31 loss to Arizona in Morgantown was another defensive disgrace, with Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita lighting them up for 482 yards. But what’s even more demoralizing for West Virginia is that it actually outgained Arizona with 522 yards only to get blown out thanks to touchdown drives of 58 seconds and 49 seconds early in the fourth quarter. Afterward, coach Rich Rodriguez said it’s as ‘frustrated as I’ve ever been defensively,’ and he should be after West Virginia lost a game for the second time in program history after rushing for more than 300 yards with 30-plus first downs. “I don’t blame the fans for being upset when the guy just hands the ball off and one guy’s out of a gap and he runs for 60 yards,’ Rodriguez said. ‘Well, where’s everybody else at? Does that mean there’s 10 other guys that can’t rally to the ball or whatever? It’s ridiculous. … You can’t win playing that poorly on defense.’ No, you can’t, and West Virginia could be headed for a second straight basement-adjacent finish in the Big 12 if it’s not fixed.”

West Virginia first opportunity to get back on track will be welcoming Cincinnati to Morgantown on Saturday afternoon.

Cincinnati is coming off a bye week. The Bearcats are 4-1, but only 1-0 in the Big 12 and also have a loss to Arizona on their season resume. Kickoff from Milan Puskar Stadium is set for noon ET.

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