West Virginia football quickly turns attention to No. 25 Virginia after U.T. Martin win

WVU football Michael Hawkins Jr. stiff arms a defender in the win over U.T. Martin. (Ron Rittenhouse/Dominon Post)

MORGANTOWN -- West Virginia football routed FCS opponent U.T. Martin 52-7 to move to 2-0 on the season -- the first time since 2018. In the first two games, the Mountaineers were a combined favorite of over 30 points, so they were expected to take care of business.

Now, WVU takes a perfect record into one of the biggest games of the season against No. 25 Virginia, who could move up in the ranking with the chaos in college football, in a clash of two unbeaten teams. The Cavaliers started the season receiving votes, and then rolled N.C. State in Week 0, 34-8. Virginia beat Norfolk State 59-3, after a bye, in Week 3.

Virginia is balanced on both sides of the ball. The Cavaliers allowed just 11 points through two games, and have an offense that averages 439.5 yards per game. Quarterback Beau Pribula creates issues on the ground and through the air.

After a Group of Six school and an FCS opponent, Rich Rodriguez and company has its first real test of the season.

Even after being 2-0, it wasn't perfect. Rodriguez said there's a lot to work on.

"I know the schedule obviously really starts getting a whole lot tougher," Rodriguez said. "But the best you can be after two games is 2-0."

The Mountaineers started the season with a massive 24-0 half against Coastal Carolina, and then the offense fell apart, allowing Coastal Carolina to make a comeback in the second half, bringing it to a 31-24 final.

WVU improved against U.T. Martin and scored over 20 points each half. The defense still needs work. The defense posted a shutout, but there were multiple times when the Skyhawks were knocking on the door. U.T. Martin had 318 yards of total offense as an FCS school.

The Mountaineers need to put together a complete game on both sides of the ball against Virginia.

"I think we made some steps on offense. I’m not sure we made steps on defense," Rodriguez said. "I’ll have to watch the film, but Coach (Zac) Alley will get those corrected. We just seem to be a few things here and there that was kind of off a little bit."

Rodriguez said the team will have a quick film session, rewatching the U.T. Martin game, and then turn the attention to the bigger threat of Virginia.

"We’ve got to get a lot of work done in the next 24 hours," Rodriguez said. "Get ready to play a really, really good veteran, when I talk about veteran, like they got some grown men on that Virginia team."

There's not too much time to prepare. WVU will have the walkthrough on Sunday, and a few days of practice before the team travels on Friday. The Mountaineers play the Cavaliers in Charlotte for a late Saturday 7:30 p.m. kick.

Quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. said the practices won't be any different than the past two.

"Same preparation, staying focused, getting our guys going," Hawkins said. "Getting back on the same page, getting back in the film room. Let's go get a win this week."

This is a first in a lot of ways for WVU. This is the first Power Four opponent, the first ranked opponent, and although a neutral site, the first game away from Milan Puskar Stadium. It's still a new roster trying to work together, so this game will really show what the team is made of.

Early in the season, a lot of fans and experts circled this game as the tone setter for the rest of the 2026 season, and Rodriguez sees it as the same.

"Our fans will travel well. Theirs probably will. Environment should be really fantastic," Rodriguez said. "They're ranked, so it's a great test to see where we're at right now."