ORLANDO, Fla. — With two wins in seven games and without a Big 12 victory in four tries, West Virginia’s season is sorely in need of answers to the many question marks on the roster. After a fourth-consecutive double-digit loss in a 45-13 defeat at a UCF team that like the Mountaineers was seeking their first league win, Rich Rodriguez stepped up to the microphones and stated once again that the future of his program is one of promise.
“I know what we’ve got to do to get it fixed,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve got to do everything we can to fix what we can fix right now. Fix what we’ve got to fix later, we’ve got to do that too. But there’s stuff we’ve got to fix right now. That’s where our focus us will be.”
Oct 18, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Khalil Wilkins (14) makes a pass in the second half against the Central Florida Knights at Acrisure Bounce House. Mandatory Credit: Russell Lansford-Imagn Images
In the last four games, the Mountaineers have had four different quarterbacks take the first snap. Nicco Marchiol and Jaylen Henderson have given way to Khalil Wilkins and Scotty Fox. A true freshman, Fox got the start against the Knights but he was replaced by Wilkins in the first quarter. Wilkins ran the ball for 48 yards on 15 attempts with a touchdown. In the passing game, Fox and Wilkins combined to go 11-for-27 for 79 yards.
“If you’ve got a young quarterback, and you can run the ball, or you don’t have to get rid of it so quick every time you drop back.”
“They both do a really good job of going in there, especially being that young of quarterbacks, especially stepping into a leadership role like that” said WVU junior center Landen Livingston.
While many position groups throughout the roster have seen some level of mixing and matching on the depth chart, the Mountaineer starting offensive line has remained largely intact for the first seven games. On Saturday against UCF, the Knights collected seven sacks and held WVU to 2.7 yards per rush.
“People say, ‘Well, change up on the O-line’. Trust me, if we thought the change up would be better, we will do that,” Rodriguez said. “We are trying to do that.”
Even though the Mountaineers fell by 32 points, they did outscore an opponent in a quarter for the second time in a Big 12 game this season. After trailing 14-0 through ten minutes of game time, West Virginia won the second quarter, 7-0. And they had a chance to pull within four points at intermission before a field goal attempt sailed wide. The Mountaineers were unable to seize on momentum they gained late in the first half.
“Once we got the ball moving, we kind of started to stack plays a little bit,” Livingston said. “We started to build off the momentum. The tempo started to go up a little bit. That’s the best thing about our offense, how fast we go.”
Defensive standouts were difficult to spot on a day when the Mountaineers allowed 578 total yards. However, Cabell Midland graduate Curtis Jones Jr. is gaining added reps in his sophomore season. Against UCF, Jones registered four tackles. He also broke up a pair of passes from his bandit position.
“It is a different game, a different level,” Jones Jr. said. “I played mainly special teams last year but just getting used to the speed of the game, it is a lot more of a mental aspect that is involved in this level. I am a ball player so it really has been easy, the transition.”