MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — When West Virginia puts the program’s unbeaten record against FCS opponents on the line at 1 p.m. Saturday against Tennessee Martin, the Mountaineers will do so looking to move forward from a disappointing ending to a desired Week 1 result.
After dominating the first half of last Saturday’s 31-24 season-opening win against Coastal Carolina, the Mountaineers fell flat on both sides of the ball over the latter two quarters when they were outscored by 17 points and out-gained by 234 yards.
Sustaining second-half drives was an issue for a team that amassed 336 yards through the first two periods.
While WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez had a regretful tone to his conservative play-calling in the third and fourth quarters, the Mountaineers managed 281 rushing yards, while keeping it on the ground for 61 of 75 plays.
Perhaps Rodriguez opens it up more against the Skyhawks, though veteran UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson is well aware a run-first approach has often been a staple of Rodriguez-coached teams, and is likely to be the case again in 2026 after West Virginia added tailback Cam Cook, who led all of FBS in rushing last season at Jacksonville State.
“It’s a problem. That’s what they do. They’re very good at it,” said Simpson, who is in his 21st season and has a 131-99 record at UT Martin. “Last year [WVU] was the fastest team in the amount of time it takes to snap the ball and how many plays they’re getting a game. So first of all, you have to try to get lined up as best you can, then you have to decide, do you get the call in, do you blitz it? What do you do with your communication? And then you have to go and execute it. It’s a problem. They’re very good. The back’s good, the offensive line, the quarterback. It’s 11-on-11, so that’s the problem they create for you.”
Cook was named Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts against the Chanticleers. He rushed 30 times for 142 yards and a pair of touchdowns, though the senior was limited to 70 yards on 29 carries after a 72-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage.
Combined with quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., who rushed for 103 yards, the Mountaineers’ top quarterback-tailback tandem finished with 50 rushing attempts for 245 yards and three scores on the ground.
“It didn’t seem like that many,” Rodriguez said of the duo’s combined 50 rushing attempts. “I was surprised when I heard he had 30. Cam wasn’t complaining. I don’t think he will. Inevitably, you’re going to have to play more than just the two running backs. Amari [Latimer] is going to get a lot of carries, and then we have to get the third guy, whoever that is, more reps, because hopefully it’s not like last year where we’re playing five or six because of injury. The carries, I don’t ever really keep a track on it, but I can kind of tell if they’re a little winded or a little bit tired. We need to be able to keep fresh guys in there. We’re just going to roll until we win the game kind of deal. I don’t really worry about that carry stuff.
Latimer, a true freshman, was a factor in the opener and ran for 32 yards on six attempts.
Fellow true freshman tailback Chris Talley was sidelined after tweaking a hamstring during warmups, and Rodriguez noted he was otherwise probably next in line to get carries. This week, the title of third running back likely belongs to junior Martavious Boswell or another true freshman in Lawrence Autry, who recently got healthy enough to warrant consideration.
After Hawkins attempted 14 passes in the first game, including five after halftime, perhaps the Mountaineers elect to get a more extensive look at their passing attack against the Skyhawks.
For now, however, Rodriguez is more concerned with ensuring a high level of comfortability within the offense for Hawkins, an Oklahoma transfer who was efficient and effective and finished the first half 6-for-6 with 94 yards and a touchdown on third down.
“The quarterback has some options on certain plays and some of it is a natural thing when you drop back and they are bailing everybody out and you have the ability to take off, run and get positive plays,” Rodriguez said. “It was Mike’s first game in our offense. He’ll get more comfortable with some of that stuff. His decision-making was pretty good. He was pretty decisive in what we were doing.
“The second half was a little bit different, because we had limited possessions and we were running the ball and killing the clock or what have you. He’ll continue to get better, as will everybody that played on our offense. Every week we look at ways that we can improve from the week before and there’s a multitude of things we can do from that standpoint, but there’s also some pretty positive things that came out of that game as well.”