WVU Football Reaches New Low in Latest ESPN FPI

To continue to paint the picture of the WVU football epic fall over the past three weeks, the Mountaineers have now reached a new low in the ESPN FPI.

Dropping 11 more spots, West Virginia is now outside the top 70 and sitting at No. 72 following their 52-31 loss to Arizona on Saturday.

WVU’s latest defeat and latest poor performance from the defense has Rich Rodriguez’s team enduring a three-game losing streak at the open of the conference schedule.

The defense allowed Arizona to hang 45 of their 52 total points on Saturday, which followed giving up 577 yards and 45 points at Iowa State and 609 yards and 41 points against Oklahoma State.

“It’s really frustrating. I think our fans were fantastic. They showed up today. I thought it was a great crowd. They tried to lift our defense up,” said Rodriguez about the defense letting down the offense. Offensively, Mike Hawkins, Cam Cook, who did fumble twice, and company racked up 522 yards and 31 points. In the week prior, they put up 518 yards and 42 points, losing a shootout to Iowa State. And the week before that, they reached 476 yards in a 41-24 loss to Oklahoma State.

West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez frustrated talking with referees during the 2026 Coal Rush Game against Arizona. (WVSN photo by Kelsie LeRose)

“It’s very frustrating because we can’t get a stop on defense, and then offensively there is probably a little bit of pressure. You can’t have a turnover. You have to score every possession and it is extremely frustrating,” Rodriguez added.

Rodriguez knows the need to get WVU’s issues corrected to avoid the season unraveling any further.

“I told the team they are playing hard, but as coaches there is some stuff that we have to fix, and fix it in a hurry,” said Rodriguez.

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.