WVU football’s showcases improve rushing attack behind new-look O-line in ranked win over No. 25 Virginia
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- West Virginia football lost 25-23 to Arizona State on the road in 2025. Rich Rodriguez was visibly frustrated at the postgame press conference and showed his infamous 1-foot hand gesture.
"We can't win a game when we can't get this much," Rodriguez showed a foot with his hands.
The inability to pick up that foot was due to the lack of push from the offensive line. From that day, Rodriguez pledged to fix the issue in the offseason. Rodriguez made drastic changes, including bringing Rick Trickett as the offensive line coach -- removing Jack Bicknell -- and dishing out cash on veteran transfer linemen, who started at all levels.
In WVU's 38-27 upset win over No. 25 Virginia Saturday night, the offensive line was officially tested. The Cavaliers had a top defense through two games and were actually a Power Four team. This was the only test before Big 12 play.
There was one moment in particular that stood out that really tested this new-look five. There were five minutes left in the game, and WVU had a two-score lead in Virginia territory after a turnover on downs. With Virginia having one timeout, it was time to drain the clock.
Everyone in Bank of America Stadium knew the next couple of plays from WVU were going to be all rushes, creating the ultimate trial. Rodriguez said after the Houston game, the most impressive wins are when everyone knows you're going to run, and you can still impose your will.
The Mountaineers handed the ball off to running back Cam Cook for two yards, then another two yards. At that rate, WVU wasn't going to get a first to end the game. The Mountaineers handed the ball to Cook again, who had running room, and he picked up seven yards for the first down. Virginia called its last timeout. Cook ran the ball three more times, and brought the game to under two minutes.
Up two scores, Virginia ran out of time to muster up any sort of a comeback.
"I thought the key is when we ran it when everybody knew we were going to run it toward the end of the fourth quarter," Rodriguez said. "When you got to run it to seal the game, those are to me the key first downs."
On the previous drive, WVU wasn't in chew clock mode, but still ran the ball efficiently. The Mountaineers ran the ball for 38 yards, including a five-yard touchdown for quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. WVU took nearly four minutes off the clock.
The Mountaineers ran the ball a whopping 51 times for 247 yards and three touchdowns. WVU averaged almost five yards a rush.
In the pass blocking department, Hawkins threw for 190 yards and two touchdowns. He was only sacked once the entire game. It’s just the second time he's been sacked this season. By this time last year, WVU's offensive line allowed eight sacks.
"Up front, providing protection for me allowed me to get the ball out of my hands," Hawkins said.
There were times when the offensive line struggled, especially earlier in the game. True freshman Kevin Brown was called for two penalties, including a tripping personal foul that waved off a big passing play, but those are to be expected.
"We're still figuring it out as a group," Rodriguez said. "That offensive line has only played together in three games."
What wasn't expected was that the offensive line and rushing attack that couldn't pick up a yard last year would be one of the main reasons the Mountaineers picked up their first ranked win of the season. WVU's new offensive line passed its first test.
"Proud of how we closed it out at the end of the game, running the football," Rodriguez said.