West Virginia — Big 12
HC
Rich Rodriguez · Milan Puskar Stadium · Morgantown, WV · 60,000 cap
PPA off / def
0.07 / 0.16
2025
Class rank
#25
class of 2026
Returning PPA
14%
returning production
| 1998 |
OSU W 34–17 | away |
| 1987 |
OSU W 24–3 | Columbus |
2026 schedule
2025 results (4–8)
Statistical comps — 2025 West Virginia's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (34 in / 50 out)
Origins
Nehlen's 1988 and 1993 teams went undefeated in the regular season without a title to show for it. Country Roads after a win at Milan Puskar is the loudest thing in the sport that isn't a chant.
Founded 1867 · Land-grant university created for a state that seceded from a seceding state · first football 1891 · defined by Don Nehlen
All-time record
All-time
705–503–41
1896–2025
Win %
58.1%
123 seasons played
Winning seasons
73
59% of seasons
By level: FBS 689–494–38 (1896–2025) · ii/iii 16–9–3 (1925–1927)
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 2005 | 11 | 1 | Big East |
| 1993 | 11 | 1 | Big East |
| 1988 | 11 | 1 | FBS Independents |
| 2007 | 11 | 2 | Big East |
| 2006 | 11 | 2 | Big East |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1896 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 296 | 71% |
38% | 111 of 136 | 4.9 | 10% |
| 2nd down | 231 | 48% |
38% | 106 of 136 | 4.9 | 7% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 45 | 76% |
53% | — | 3.8 | 4% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 51 | 45% |
29% | — | 4.2 | 12% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 61 | 11% |
15% | — | 6.2 | 8% |
| 4th down | 34 | 62% |
44% | — | 4.3 | 12% |
161 drives · 24% ended in points · 6.6 plays and 31.8 yards per drive · 0.36 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 12 | Arizona State |
(06:52) No Huddle-Shotgun #15 S.Fox Jr. pass complete short right to #23 C.Bowers caught a… |
90 | 7.39 |
| 12 | Arizona State |
(07:58) No Huddle-Shotgun #15 S.Fox Jr. pass complete short middle to #16 J.Weimer caught … |
75 | 6.08 |
| 11 | Colorado |
(05:05) No Huddle-Shotgun #15 S.Fox Jr. pass complete deep left to #20 D.Hubbard caught at… |
69 | 5.32 |
| 10 | Houston |
(12:59) No Huddle-Shotgun #15 S.Fox Jr. rush middle for 34 yards gain to the HOU00 TOUCHDO… |
34 | 4.78 |
| 1 | Robert Morris |
Scotty Fox Jr. run for 59 yds for a TD (Kade Hensley KICK) |
59 | 4.66 |
| 10 | Houston |
(08:55) No Huddle-Shotgun #15 S.Fox Jr. pass complete deep right to #16 J.Weimer caught at… |
53 | 4.64 |
| 10 | Houston |
End of 4th quarter. |
56 | 4.61 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh |
Scotty Fox Jr. pass complete to Justin Smith-Brown for 56 yds to the PITT 3 for a 1ST down |
56 | 4.33 |