West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez listens to a question during the Big 12 NCAA college football media day in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

The 2025 West Virginia team is one of the few college football teams where no one has any idea of how good it could be. There’s a new head coach, 70-plus transfers, and no named starting quarterback in a QB-heavy Big 12. Who knows how well the Mountaineers will mesh with all the changes? The one benefit is Rich Rodriguez, who’s a known winner.

Luckily, WVU’s 2025 schedule is favorable for Rodriguez’s first year. There are definitely some should-be wins and the shoe-in losses, but there are a lot of toss-up games, because there’s so much unknown with this squad.

This is one of the hardest teams to predict because the ceiling could be a bowl game and maybe fighting for the top of the Big 12, which should be the goal, but the floor could be as low as coming last in the conference.

Here is the schedule prediction, under a week from the first game against Robert Morris.

Robert Morris: W

Robert Morris is the biggest shoe-in win of the season. It’s West Virginia’s pay an FCS school to get beat up on, so the Mountaineers can dust off the cobwebs and play as many players as possible.

It’s pretty much a scrimmage, and West Virginia should handle business, starting the season off with a win.

At Ohio: W

Most would think Ohio is a chalk game, but it’ll be closer than the experts think. Ohio is one of the better Group of 5 schools, winning 10-plus games over the past three years. The Bobcats aren’t a team to sleep on.

However, Ohio’s struggled against Power Four opponents, so WVU should pick up a win on the road.

Pitt: W

The Backyard Brawl. Rodriguez’s return to WVU’s biggest rivalry, and it’s at home. This is WVU’s first upset of the season, and one of the many toss-up games.

With it being at home and Rodriguez’s first game back, this will be his first chance to make a big splash. If not, the season could be on a downward trajectory. Rodriguez and WVU use the rivalry juice to beat Pitt at home, setting up a respectable first season.

At Kansas: L

WVU either wins the Pitt game at home or beats Kansas on the road. Not both. Kansas had a rough start to the 2024 season, but rebounded quickly, starting to click offensively.

The Jayhawks’ offense is fast and can score a lot. It’ll be a good early test for Zac Alley’s defense. However, it’s a tough road game, against a solid team, that’ll out-score Rodriguez’s offense on the road.

Utah: L

If you look at Utah’s record last year, you’d think this should be a cakewalk, but Kyle Whittingham has completely rebuilt this team, and it should be a lot better in 2025.

This is another toss-up game, and after a 3-0 start, it’s the first game where WVU fans start to complain. It should be a good game for home fans. Utah’s defense is just too strong and will cause many problems for Rodriguez’s offense.

At BYU: L

This is one of the predictable losses. BYU is one of the better teams in the Big 12, even without quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who transferred to Tulane in the summer. The defense is constricting, and the offense will only have to score a couple of times to pull out the win.

This game is also late, on the West Coast, so it’s a long trip for WVU, already making for an uphill battle.

At UCF: W

UCF could easily be the worst team in the Big 12. Non-West Virginia fans had WVU, Houston and UCF toward the bottom of the Big 12 in preseason standings. The Golden Knights are in a similar situation to WVU with a new old coach coming back in, Scott Frost.

WVU is a little bit more established and has a better roster, making for a solid game to get back on track.

TCU: L

TCU is always one of the better teams in the Big 12. The Horned Frogs are one of the many schools that return starting quarterbacks and have a high-powered offense.

This could be an upset at home, but TCU’s better in most aspects on offense.

At Houston: W

Houston is one of those bottom-of-the-barrel Big 12 teams. Houston’s defense isn’t something to pass over, but the offense is nonexistent.

This will be a low-scoring game, but WVU should pull out a win because the offense should be something in 2025.

Colorado: W

This is a toss-up game because no one knows what Colorado we’ll get in 2025. 2024 was promising, but Deion Sanders lost his best player, Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, his quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, and multiple offensive weapons.

It’ll be Sanders’ first time at WVU, and in a battle of big-name coaches, Rodriguez secures a big win at home because of how many questions the Buffaloes have.

At Arizona State: L

This is WVU’s toughest game. Arizona State won the Big 12 last year and went toe-to-toe with Texas, which is now ranked No. 1 heading into the season.

The Sun Devils did lose do-it-all running back Cam Skattebo, but they returned their preseason All-Big 12 quarterback, Sam Leavitt, and preseason first-team AP All-American wide receiver Jordyn Tyson. There shouldn’t really be any drop off. Plus, the game is on the road, adding another level of difficulty.

Texas Tech: L

Texas Tech is an emerging powerhouse in the Big 12, with one of the most expensive rosters in college football. The Red Raiders always compete, but took it to another level in the NIL era. Coach Joey McGuire had the second-highest rated portal period in the offseason, with multiple additions on the defensive line.

Texas Tech is a brutal game to pull to close out the season. Even with a loss to close out the season, WVU should make a bowl game.

Record: 6-6