For almost eight years, WVU Football fans have been waiting for this. We’ve had bowl games, celebrated six-win seasons and enjoyed a few September victories that made us feel good for a couple days. There have been moments when we convinced ourselves the program might finally be turning the corner. But something has been missing through all of it — a game that truly mattered beyond Morgantown. Read more: WVU Football is following a familiar blueprint.
Think about it. When was the last time the Mountaineers entered a game knowing the result could change the way the rest of the country viewed the program?
You probably have to go all the way back to November 23, 2018. On that Black Friday night, No. 13 West Virginia hosted No. 6 Oklahoma with Will Grier and Kyler Murray trading punches in front of a packed Milan Puskar Stadium. It was a de facto Big 12 Championship Game, and the Mountaineers came up just short, losing 59-56 in one of the wildest games Morgantown has ever seen.
Related: What has happened at West Virginia since the last time the team cracked the AP Top 25?
That’s when everything changed. Dana Holgorsen left the program, and Neal Brown couldn’t bring the Mountaineers back to national relevance.
It’s been nearly eight years since we woke up the next morning anxious to check the Top 25 or spent a Saturday scoreboard-watching and rooting for other teams to lose because it might actually help WVU’s chances of winning a conference title.
We haven’t had that around here in a long time.
Maybe we do now.
Conversation changer
West Virginia didn’t sneak out of Charlotte with a win Saturday night. The Mountaineers beat No. 25 Virginia, 38-27, and after falling behind 14-7, they looked like the better football team.
That’s the part that matters.
This wasn’t some fluky upset where everything bounced West Virginia’s way. The Mountaineers ran for 247 yards, finished with 437 yards of offense, and answered Virginia every time the Cavaliers threatened to take control.
They also had the best player on the field.
We wondered all offseason what Rich Rodriguez’s offense would look like with Michael Hawkins Jr. running it. We’re starting to get our answer.
Hawkins finished with 313 yards of total offense, throwing for 190 yards and two touchdowns while adding 123 yards and three more scores on the ground.
Five touchdowns against a ranked team on a neutral field isn’t managing an offense. It’s taking over a football game.
“He’s a dynamic player and I think he’s going to keep getting better,” Rodriguez said after the win. “I mean, it’s just his third game in the system.”
For anyone who watched West Virginia football in the mid-2000s, there were moments Saturday night that felt awfully familiar.
Couches are on notice
What I loved most about Saturday night is that it didn’t feel like a destination. It felt like a beginning. WVU is 3-0 for the first time since 2018, and now the Big 12 schedule begins with Oklahoma State coming to Morgantown Saturday night for a Gold Rush at Milan Puskar Stadium.
The Cowboys are 2-1, but don’t let the opening loss to Tulsa fool you. They responded by knocking off No. 6 Oregon, 39-31, before hanging 59 points on Murray State. This will be another test for West Virginia, and that’s exactly what this program needs.
Related: Weekend wins set up “big fight feel” for WVU vs. Oklahoma State
There will still be growing pains with this team. It’s three games into the season with a new roster, and nobody should be planning a parade just yet. But beat Oklahoma State at home Saturday night, move to 4-0, and suddenly there is real momentum as WVU gets into the heart of Big 12 play.
More importantly, the rest of college football is starting to notice what Rodriguez is building. He has a dynamic dual-threat quarterback in Hawkins, one of the nation’s best running backs in Cam Cook and an emerging playmaker at receiver in DJ Epps. Meanwhile, the defense appears to be getting better every week.
Sound familiar?
A dangerous quarterback. A big-time running back. Speed on the outside. A defense finding its identity. Nobody is confusing this group with those great West Virginia teams of the mid-2000s just yet, but the blueprint sure looks familiar.
And for the first time in a long time, West Virginia has the college football world paying attention again.
