Somehow, it’s been almost 30 years since I walked into Mountaineer Field for my first West Virginia Football game.
It was 1997, my first year at WVU, and Marshall came to Morgantown for the first meeting between the two schools in 74 years. I had no idea some of the guys running around on that field would soon become household names. Read more: There’s nothing like opening day.
Marc Bulger. Amos Zereoué.
On the other side, Chad Pennington and some receiver named Randy Moss.
West Virginia won 42-31 in a wild game that included the Mountaineers jumping out to a 28-3 lead, Marshall storming all the way back to take a 31-28 lead, and WVU scoring the final 14 points to win it.
I was hooked.
And all this time later, I still think there is nothing quite like the first game of a college football season.
I don’t care if it’s Temple (shout out to the old Big East) or Ohio State.
Opening day is opening day.
There’s something about waking up that morning knowing football is finally back. Morgantown is packed, Flying WVs are everywhere, tailgates are already rolling and you can feel the anticipation building toward that first trip out of the tunnel.
It just feels different on opening day. And maybe most importantly, the possibilities.
There are no losses to explain away. No quarterback controversies. The defensive coordinator still has a job, and we haven’t spent an entire Saturday screaming about the play-calling.
For a few glorious hours, we’re all undefeated.
Reason for optimism
Saturday begins Year 2 of Rich Rodriguez 2.0.
Last year was about Rich Rod coming home. The nostalgia was unavoidable. The guy who helped create one of the greatest eras in WVU Football history was once again standing on the Mountaineer sideline.
But now comes the harder part.
Winning.
Because as fun as nostalgia can be, you can’t build a major college football program on it. And nobody understands that better than the man whose No. 5 will be honored before Saturday’s opener.
Pat White will be back inside Milan Puskar Stadium as West Virginia celebrates the retirement of the number he made legendary. It’s difficult to imagine a better way to begin a season.
Related: Pat White on No. 5, proving people wrong, and coming home to West Virginia
A stadium full of people remembering what West Virginia Football once was – and wondering what it can become again.
That’s the part that matters.
The time is now
College football isn’t the same sport it was when White was running the zone read with Steve Slaton. There is too much money involved now. Revenue sharing. NIL. Roster budgets. Donors being asked to give more. Fans being asked to spend more.
West Virginia has made the investment. Eventually, that investment has to produce wins.
I’m not saying the Mountaineers have to make the College Football Playoff this year. I’m not even putting a win total on it today.
This isn’t the time for predictions. It’s about the possibilities that come with a new season. Michael Hawkins Jr. could become the next great WVU quarterback. Somebody we’ve barely talked about all summer could become a star, and Rodriguez may have this rebuild further along than any of us realize.
That’s what I love about the day before the season begins. We get to wonder where all of this might lead. I’ve felt that way since my first trip to Mountaineer Field, watching Bulger, Zereoué, Pennington, and Moss nearly 30 years ago.
Almost three decades later, I’m still feeling it.
Tomorrow, we’ll start getting answers.
We get to believe anything is possible. And that’s a pretty damn good feeling.
