MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia will learn much more about its football team late Saturday when the Mountaineers clash with No. 25 Virginia at 7:30 p.m. in a neutral site contest at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
To produce the result they desire, the Mountaineers will need improvement from what they’ve displayed across the first two games — a 31-24 win against Coastal Carolina that was followed by a 55-7 victory over Tennessee Martin.
After qualifying for the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and finishing 11-3 last season, have picked up where they left off to start Tony Elliott’s fifth year as head coach.
Virginia handled North Carolina State, 34-8, in its opener before doing what was expected last Friday and defeating Norfolk State, 59-3.
The Cavaliers are a veteran-laden group, and that, perhaps above all else, sticks out to WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez.
“I don’t know the stats of it, but it might be the most veteran team that has been in college football in a long time,” Rodriguez said. “There won’t be nearly as many veteran teams like this in the future, because of the 5-for-5 rule, right? You’re talking about two seventh-year guys, two sixth-year guys and a fifth year guy on the offensive line. It’s amazing. They’ve done a great job of getting their guys in and retaining them and developing, and now they’re playing a bunch of grown men, and it shows on film on both sides.
“They’re an experienced team that doesn’t make any mistakes. They’re going to be where they’re supposed to be and they play good football.”
Until last season, the Cavaliers struggled under Elliott, going 11-3 and 6-17 within the Atlantic Coast Conference over his first three years.
That changed thanks in large part to a seven-game win streak in 2025, one that propelled the team to a 7-1 finish in the ACC. Although the Cavaliers had good fortune by going 3-1 in overtime contests, their three setbacks were each by one possession and a total of 18 points.
To start the 2026 campaign, the Cavaliers have followed a somewhat similar offensive script to that of the Mountaineers in that the two teams have been run heavy.
Virginia has run on 95 of 130 offensive plays through two games. Its 47.5 rushes per game are behind only FBS teams, one of which is West Virginia, which ranks second at 56 runs per game.
Six Cavaliers have at least 10 carries, five of which are running backs. The other is quarterback Beau Pribula, who has enjoyed a strong start to his fifth year of college football after transferring from Missouri in the offseason. A dual threat, Pribula has rushed 17 times for 102 yards and completed 21-of-25 passes for 317 yards with five touchdowns and one interception.
Pribula twice opposed the Mountaineers in 2023 and 2024 during his time at Penn State, and was efficient and effective in his Cavalier debut when he hit on 9-of-11 passes for 155 yards with two touchdowns and rushed 15 times for 110 yards against the Wolfpack.
“He’s a really good runner. He can get out on the perimeter,” Mountaineer defensive coordinator Zac Alley said. “He throws the ball well. There’s like a [misnomer] that they don’t throw the ball. I wouldn’t throw the ball if I didn’t have to either. Their first two games, they didn’t have to, so it doesn’t really matter. He has a great arm. He’s a good decision-maker.
“We looked him in the portal to fit us here, too, so I have a lot of respect for him and a lot of respect for coach Elliott. I was with him at Clemson for eight years. A great man and all that and they’re going to have a great plan, so that’s going to challenge us.”
The Cavaliers have rushed for 495 yards altogether, and the 247.5 yards per game on the ground ranks top 20 nationally.
Despite West Virginia’s struggles stopping the pass this season, Alley expects the Cavaliers to pose a significant challenge to his unit’s run defense.
“They want to run the ball on you and they want to get some bomb shots over the top and have an opportunity to hold the ball,” Alley said. “They went on a [23]-play drive against [NC State] and it took the entire quarter. Limit the possessions on offense to be able to score, and then don’t take negative plays.”
While the Cavaliers relied on the run plenty in 2025 and ranked 33rd nationally averaging 39.14 rushing attempts per game, the impact of a dual-threat quarterback wasn’t as great. Chandler Morris was the signal caller in all 14 games a year ago and finished with 64 runs for 245 yards and five touchdowns.
Health permitting, Pribula should exceed Morris’ rushing attempts and yardage on the ground by a wide margin.
“You definitely have to count for all 11, right? They’re going to play with 11 with him,” Rodriguez said. “He’s a big, physical runner and has experience, so I don’t know if you’re going to trick him or anything like that.
“Part of the biggest key, in simple terms, is getting off blocks. You might be in the right position to make a play, but you have to get off a block and you have good guys blocking you — and then you have to be able to make a tackle. Schematically, too much is probably made out of that. Usually, defensively, where you’re really good is when you’re in position, but you’re getting off blocks and getting people down on the ground. That’s going to be the key with tackling him and those running backs they have.”