WVU Rich Rodriguez believes program can rebound after blowout loss to Kansas
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MORGANTOWN -- West Virginia football was a favorite heading into the game with Kansas. The Jayhawks had just one Power Four win on the year and it was their only Big 12 win. Kansas was 3-6 and was last in the Big 12. Sitting at 5-4 and with top 25-ranked teams Houston and Utah left on the schedule, Kansas at home felt like the only chance to get to six wins in the final three games. It was so sure-fire, a representative for the Independence Bowl met with the athletic department before the game.
Instead of celebrating the bowl eligibility, Rich Rodriguez ran off the field to boos and fire defensive coordinator Zac Alley chants from the couple of thousand fans still left in the stadium.
It could've been from the cold, but Rodriguez had clear water in his eyes when he answered media questions after the Mountaineers were embarrassed in the first home game in almost a month, 37-14.
"I didn't see this coming," Rodriguez said. "It was just embarrassing. I thought we had a decent week."
WVU was beaten in every square inch of the game.
The offense had seven meaningful points (the other seven came in garbage time) and had season lows in total yardage and rushing yards. The offensive line struggled a lot, and quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. misfired on multiple throws.
The defense was as bad as it’s always been. Kansas had a season-high rushing yards in the first half against Power Four teams, and totaled 30 points in the first half. The Jayhawks tallied 448 yards of offense, which was the most gained against a Power Four team this season.
It was bad everywhere. It was just the defense, but now it's plagued the offense. Rodriguez said he evaluates the staff after every game, but there is nothing definitive on whether there will be staff changes, including Alley calling the defense.
So where does WVU go from here? There are still two games left on the season. It seems like a steep uphill battle. The Cougars lost Friday night to Colorado, but they were a top 25 team heading into the week. Then, WVU heads to No. 2 Utah, who is the top team in the Big 12 and one of the remaining Big 12 teams. Based on Saturday night's performance, those two games look to be bloodbaths.
"There is a lot riding in two games," Rodriguez said. "Every game is for a bowl game. We got two really talented teams, ranked teams, that we got to play. This is our seniors' last home game, so it means something really special."
Rodriguez and the team are keeping the same 24-hour rule. The team has a day to think about this loss and evaluate what went wrong. After 24 hours are up, the focus turns to preparing for Houston. Receiver John Neider, who caught one of the two scores for WVU, said he'll go home and immediately watch film to see what went wrong.
"Just talk to my teammates, coaches, see what we can fix and do better," Neider said.
This loss felt different, and it was. WVU had its fair share of losses this season, four of them heading into Saturday night. But most of them were close games for a majority of the game. Kansas led 30-7 at half, and with the offense constantly punting, it didn't feel like there was any chance WVU was coming back into the game.
This was also a blowout loss to an inferior opponent. WVU's four other losses were to three top 25 teams: Arizona, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
Rodriguez stated this was an outlier.
"I don't know if you can play much worse," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez has been coaching for a long time. More than three decades. Like he said before starting his first season at WVU, he's been everywhere, like Forrest Gump. In his journey, he’s had a fair share of bad seasons. He went 3-8 his first year at WVU in the early 2000s, went 3-9 in Year 1 at Michigan and 3-9 in 2016 at Arizona.
After those experiences, Rodriguez believes he can get the program back on track. He's frustrated it's taking longer than usual.
"I know what it takes to win," Rodriguez said. "Maybe you could question that after tonight. I understand that. But this is not my first rodeo... I'm a big boy. I know what the hell I'm doing. I know what I need to fix."