WVU football Rich Rodriguez predicts the 2026 team will be ‘fun to watch’
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MORGANTOWN -- For a fan, West Virginia football's 2025 season wasn't very fun. The Ohio game wasn't enjoyable to watch, the UCF was brutal knowing the circumstances, the start to the Big 12 was rough, and it crescendoed to a 49-0 loss to Texas Tech to close out the season.
Rich Rodriguez wasn't having much fun either, in his first year back for the Mountaineers. There were multiple press conferences where he was visibly frustrated, the most notable after the Arizona State game where almost every answer tied back to the team's inability to get a yard.
But it's a new year and new season, and it all starts on Saturday when WVU has its Week 1 game against Coastal Carolina, which kicks off at noon.
There are predictions for the 2026 team made by media outlets, sportsbooks or fans at the bar. Some say this team will win the Big 12, or eight to six wins, or it'll be similar to last year, finishing 4-8.
Rodriguez's prediction is in, but he's not valuing based on wins or losses.
"I think that it's going to be fun," Rodriguez said. "Still think I said this before. I didn’t make predictions, but I think it’s going to be a fun team to watch. I hope it’s fun in the right way."
What does fun mean exactly? Winning is fun, and WVU didn't do much of it last year. But that's not what Rodriguez is talking about directly.
He thinks the team will be more fun because there are exciting players on offense, explosive players on defense and the team is a lot more athletic.
On paper, he's probably right. Rodriguez had more money to spend this offseason, and he wasn't afraid to spend.
He brought in exciting players in the transfer portal, including last year's nation's leading rusher Cam Cook at running back, former Oklahoma 4-star dual-threat quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. and a lot more length and speed on defense.
Rodriguez brought in fun players for the future, too, signing a massive freshman and JUCO class. He landed 4-star legacy offensive lineman Kevin Brown, who flipped from rival Penn State. 4-star running back Amari Latimer changed from Wisconsin to WVU. Rodriguez even picked up a two-way player, Matt Sieg, to draw interest on how he'll be used. Almost every press conference, someone asks about Sieg, and if he's playing offense along with safety.
"I think our overall team speed is a little higher on both sides of the ball as well," Rodriguez said. "I think they’ll really play hard."
He didn't shy away from bringing excitement to the team when he released the depth chart. Brown is starting at left tackle as a true freshman, Sieg is listed as a punt and kick returner, and Latimer is the backup to Cook as well.
From a roster standpoint, the team should be more fun to watch.
Outside of the roster, Rodriguez is trying to make the atmosphere fun as well. He's having the team run out of the tunnel instead of the weight room. Rodriguez wants the team to look like gladiators, he said on his radio show. WVU will have a tunnel cam, too, showing the team in the tunnel, which will be displayed on the jumbotron. The inflatable helmet won't return yet, but there will still be the fire.
The off-the-field spectacle and the numbers, stars and metrics sound fun. But, that wears off once the product on the field is showcased. If that doesn’t amount to winning and being competitive, like last year, it won't be very fun.
"We’ll learn a lot in the first game, probably more than any game we play, simply because there’s so many new guys playing," Rodriguez said. "But I think they’ve earned the right to play a game and have some fun on Saturday... Saturday we wake up in a great atmosphere and have some fun."