Hope or Hype? Big 12 Coaches Can’t Agree on West Virginia’s Chances in 2025 Title Race
With summer workouts underway and the countdown to the 2025 college football season ticking closer, one thing is clear across the Big 12: opinions about West Virginia’s place in the conference pecking order are anything but unanimous.
In anonymous offseason conversations and preseason previews, Big 12 coaches have expressed mixed evaluations of WVU’s outlook for 2025—some viewing the Mountaineers as a dark horse in the title race, others casting doubt on their ability to break through in a deep and competitive league.
“They’re scrappy, they’re physical, and they’ve got a veteran quarterback. That’s not a team you want to see late in the year,” said one Big 12 head coach. “If they get some momentum early, watch out.”
That quarterback is Garrett Greene, the returning starter who turned heads last season with his dual-threat ability, leadership, and toughness. Paired with an offensive line that brings back key starters and a deep stable of running backs, WVU’s offense is expected to be dynamic—especially if its wide receiver group continues to progress.
But for every coach high on the Mountaineers, there’s another voicing skepticism—pointing to questions on defense, inconsistent results in recent years, and the pressure on head coach Neal Brown to deliver sustained success.
“They’ve been hard to figure out,” said another coach. “They look like world-beaters one week, then flat the next. Until they prove they can do it over 12 weeks, it’s hard to buy in completely.”
West Virginia finished the 2024 season with a respectable 8–5 record, including several gritty wins that showcased the team’s toughness and resilience. However, missed opportunities against top-tier Big 12 opponents left fans and analysts alike wondering whether WVU had truly turned the corner—or was still a step behind the league’s elite.
The 2025 schedule won’t do them any favors. With road trips to UCF, Kansas State, and Arizona, and high-stakes home games against Oklahoma State and BYU, the Mountaineers will need to be sharp from the outset to stay in contention.
Neal Brown, entering his seventh season in Morgantown, is embracing the external doubt.
“I think our guys like being overlooked a little,” Brown said at spring practice. “We know what we have in that locker room. We’re not focused on proving people wrong—we’re focused on proving ourselves right.”
One area where WVU is drawing quiet respect is in the trenches. Several coaches praised the Mountaineers’ offensive line as one of the most underrated units in the Big 12, and noted that games are often won or lost up front.
“If they control the line of scrimmage and Greene keeps playing the way he has, they’ll be in every game,” said a defensive coordinator. “But this league is a grind. You’ve got to survive it week to week.”
So, is West Virginia poised for a breakthrough—or just another middle-tier team with promise? That’s the question hanging over the program heading into the fall.
For now, the verdict among their Big 12 peers is split. But come September, the Mountaineers will have a chance to turn hope into reality—or prove that the hype was real all along.
