Morgantown, WV – Previews and predictions for the 2025 college football season are beginning to be unveiled for many outlets across the nation. ESPN’s Football Power Index has revealed their projected order of finish for the Big 12, and Mountaineer fans may be upset to discover where West Virginia falls in this ranking.
According to ESPN’s FPI, the Mountaineers are projected to finish 13th in the Big 12 with a 0.5% chance to win the conference outright.
The outlet projects the Mountaineers to finish with a 5-7 record in 2025, placing only a 0.8% chance to make the College Football Playoff. While this may come off as a baffling statistic, take into consideration what the West Virginia Football program endured this offseason.
Not only will the Mountaineers be welcoming an entirely new coaching staff, but the program suffered a plethora of attrition to the NCAA Transfer Portal. However, West Virginia also added many players through the portal, as well.
Though it is a common expectation that a turnaround can be experienced in one season, that is not always the case. Programs that suffer a lot of turnover often take upwards of 2 to 3 seasons to reap the benefits of the mass overhaul.
This will likely be the case for the Mountaineers.
Fans need to be patient with Rich Rodriguez as he attempts to make his impression on the program. A rough 2025 season should not be an indicator as to how the West Virginia native’s second stint is going to go in Morgantown. The real key will be hopes of improvement from year one to year two, as well as year two to year three.
However, the Mountaineers will have the chance to prove the skeptics wrong this fall. West Virginia’s 2025 season is set to kickoff on August 30th against Robert Morris. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
ESPN’s 2025 FPI Big 12 Projections
1. Kansas State
2. Arizona State
3. BYU
4. Kansas
5. TCU
6. Baylor
7. Texas Tech
8. UCF
9. Iowa State
10. Utah
11. Colorado
12. Cincinnati
13. West Virginia
14. Oklahoma State
15. Arizona
16. Houston
(Photo by WVU Athletics)
