⚡ CFB Dashboard

- QB/OL: There are a few ways to look at what West Virginia's defense did against Coastal Carolina, but right away, a few observers will make a choice and look at what the Mountaineers did not...

- QB: I may not know who the best QB is in the Big 12, but I learned who the worst is tonight (but hes a running threat so were probably in trouble either way)

- QB: At a certain point that man HAS to get someone on the ground lol.

- RB: I was hyping him up couple months ago and was saying I was hoping to see a good amount from him this year.

- West Virginia's opener produced 9 conversions on 18 third downs, with Mike Hawkins completing all eight third-down passes and rushing for 110 yards. That is an encouraging first-game change from a 2025 offense ranked No. 132 in third-down conversion rate, not yet proof the improvement will hold against stronger opponents. - Cam Cook supplied a 74-yard run and nine forced missed tackles, per the article's PFF figures. WVU nevertheless debuted 19 team starters against Coastal Carolina; seven true freshmen played, including left tackle Kevin Brown. The explosive rushing start came with substantial lineup turnover. - WVU recorded five sacks in its opener. Next opponent UT Martin entered this preview with no sacks allowed and no touchdown passes through a 1-1 start, while running back Tommy Ansley had five rushing touchdowns. Those early opponent splits point to a different test for WVU's front, rather than establishing a projected score. - Jack Cassidy generated touchbacks on all six WVU kickoffs in the opener. UT Martin is also a specific special-teams concern: the preview credits it with an FCS-leading eight blocked kicks last season and two already this season.

- QB: I know Doege wasn’t the greatest but he’s miles better than any of the other guys you mentioned and it’s not close.

- West Virginia's 2026 UT Martin preview lists 19 players who have already made their first starts for WVU and an overall roster with 88 newcomers against 34 returning players. That is substantial program-level turnover, not 19 first-ever college starts or evidence that the next game's lineup has changed. - West Virginia's defense is preparing for a UT Martin offense that has used both Tate Surber and Julian Calvez through two games, averaging 33 points and 386 yards. Running back Tommy Ansley has 179 yards and five touchdowns at 6.9 per carry; those are opponent results over a small sample, not WVU defensive projections or a confirmed two-quarterback rotation for Saturday. - For West Virginia's offense, the preview identifies UT Martin defender Trey Cotton's 14 tackles, forced fumble and interception as an opposing takeaway threat. UT Martin has allowed 21.5 points per game through two outings; those opponent results are from a small sample and do not provide a matchup-adjusted scoring forecast for WVU.

- Only one starting West Virginia defensive back graded above 61.0 in PFF's Coastal Carolina review, leaving coverage a concern despite the talent advantage projected against UT Martin. The preview flags limited film on new opposing quarterback Tate Surber after his 222-yard, one-interception Chicago State game, drawing a cautionary comparison to WVU's problems with an inexperienced passer in the opener. - West Virginia tackle Carsten Casady received a 35.0 opening-game PFF grade, allowing a hurry and struggling in run blocking, while Kevin Brown also missed one block that resulted in a hit on Michael Hawkins. The preview identifies UT Martin edge Duston Chavis, who can move from wide alignments to the B-gap, as a specific test of both tackles rather than evidence of a new WVU lineup. - Jaden Bray led West Virginia with four targets against Coastal Carolina and was the primary read on a converted third down. The writer projects a favorable receiving matchup against Farand Washington, citing seven completions allowed on eight targets through UT Martin's first two games, but treats Bray becoming the clear go-to receiver as an expectation rather than an announced target share.

- West Virginia quarterback Mike Hawkins completed all eight third-down passes for 108 yards in the 2026 Coastal Carolina opener, including six completions for 94 yards, five first downs and a touchdown before halftime. That passing efficiency did not translate into sustained second-half success: the offense converted 8 of 10 third downs in the first half but only 1 of 8 afterward. - Hawkins extended West Virginia's 17-play, 86-yard touchdown drive with a short-yardage run and two completions against pressure, helping consume 6:35 late in the first half. The late-game contrast was significant: an 11-yard third-down sack removed a field-goal opportunity and a later third-and-8 run lost five yards, showing why perfect third-down passing alone overstates the offense's consistency.

- Injury: Brother, I'm thinking if it's a thing it is more personnel related than scheme.

- QB/WR: Each week this season, I'm going to take a moment to break down three key matchups for that week's contest.

- QB/LB: A season ago, West Virginia had the lowest third-down conversion percentage in the Power 4.

- QB: The crowd cheered when his helmet came off lol it was directed at Howard.

- QB/RB: I know we’re Always going to run the ball, and there’s plenty of work to do in that department, but we need to find out this weekend if we can consistently throw the ball.

- West Virginia offensive lineman Amare Grayson played 76 snaps against Coastal Carolina alongside true freshman Kevin Brown, Nick Krahe, Wes King and Carsten Casady, with the Mountaineers rushing for 281 yards in the 31-24 win. - West Virginia's Grayson acknowledged early communication problems as the newly assembled offensive line adjusted to the game environment, but said communication improved during the opener and described the overall performance as consistent. - West Virginia's Grayson said line coach Rick Trickett emphasized cleaner execution and continued improvement after the opener, leaving communication and cohesion as development priorities ahead of UT Martin rather than announcing a personnel change.

- Pick/market: at the end of the day, high level, football is still fundamentally about angles, numbers, and leverage.

- QB/LB: I’ve been saying that Hawkins is actually pretty calm and willing to stand firm in pocket.

- QB: You're a Nicco is a good QB guy too I bet.

- TE/LB: Now a college athelete 5 full seasons in whatever sport.

- Pick/market: Just depends on if you think this team is closer to the 1st half team or closer to the 2nd half team.

- QB/LB: Okay, wait, I need to add one to the list.

- QB: I blame that on the fact he watched the QB break contain a hundred times.

- QB: There were lots of blowouts where Big 12 teams had like 5 guys on offense with 50 yards of rushing.

- RB/LB: Not sure if they beat us by 10 or 45, they honestly have a well rounded team, defense as well, UVA #1 RB is suspended for couple of games, let’s just he’s not back...

- QB: Would love for someone to ask him why he didn't play action or pass like he did in first half.

- Pick/market: Noticed that live.

- Pick/market: Choosing to go “Full Rod” is essentially being a stubborn and lazy thinker who refuses to adjust.

- LB: The differences between the halves were the huge disappointment.

- QB: If he plays anything like he did against us the rest of the season he won't be a Chant next year.

- RB: That seems a lot more likely but he did seem a little off in his limited time.

- Rich Rodriguez said West Virginia became too conservative with its second-half lead against Coastal Carolina and passed up available shots while trying to rest the defense, adding that Michael Hawkins' composure and generally sound decisions give him confidence the offense can do more going forward. - Chris Talley was next in line for running-back reps before injuring his hamstring during warmups, with Rodriguez describing him as week-to-week and saying West Virginia will eventually need to use more than two backs without specifying a return date or carry allocation. - Rodriguez expressed hope that Prince Strachan can return for the Virginia game, but did not confirm clearance or say that he would be available for the upcoming UT Martin matchup. - Rodriguez said Darius Wiley's injury creates an opportunity for Tobi Haastrup and Jeremiah Johnson to earn roles, without establishing that either has secured a starting job or defining Wiley's recovery timetable. - New arrival JaCorey Thomas can potentially play all three safety spots for West Virginia depending on how much he learns, but Rodriguez said he still has steps to complete, so the discussion does not establish immediate eligibility or game availability.

- QB/LB: One thing you can count on, we will make their young quarterback a boat load of money in the portal next season.

- QB: I assuming you are young, and Jaylen was bad, but WV has had lots of regrettable choices at QB.

- QB: The depth chart is good for who matters.

- Pick/market: By my count, there were only 2 "pass" plays where I think Hawkins could've done better - the RPO where he ran it and missed a wide open WR (but still got the 1st...

- OL/DB: I mentioned it earlier, but it looked like Coastal was in man (or at least some kind of matching with a quick trigger to the first out) a lot and the bubble on an...

- QB/LB: there’s nothing in the rule book that says we can’t send a wild pressure and play man or press before we drop into our zone.

- Pick/market: like (I’m out of likes)

- QB/DL: Visions of goal line Qb situations just dancing through my head.

- QB: if RR wants to complain about Alley's D, he needs to hold up a mirror to his inept 2nd half O.

- QB/DB: He made our defence look bad however he made the pass rush look worse than the DB’s if we are talking cause and effect.

- Offense: I respect your opinion.

- Coaching: RR on Hawkins' decision making: The QB decision, he has some options on certain plays.

- QB/LB: I took the question as will the team (first half) move the ball, score, and also be at least competent on defense OR (2nd half) they will 3 and out a lot and get...

- QB: If CCU recovered that last inside kick, we could have lost that game.

- Pick/market: Do you think anyone who has watched RR’s long career as a HC think he is going to do anything fundamentally different in his offense than he has done for over 20+ years.

- QB: Except he mentioned it was an issue in match zone, which is more like man than zone

- Injury: I just hope we can solidify a scheme to run our QB up the middle at least 50% of the time, nobody will see that coming from RR of all people.

- Injury: He actually called mostly inside zone without a read at the end when this was happening.

- Injury: Gleeful because then Fox is the QB and we can throw the ball all over the yard!

- QB: Allowing the QB to break containment time and time again, giving him loads of time to throw the ball did not help the secondary one bit.

- QB: Ben wasn't the only one doing that...and they all know better.

- QB/DL: I’d have to go back and watch again but it felt like a bunch of guys just wanting to get pressures and sacks without doing their jobs.

- QB/DL: Keeping contain was one of the things I noted that needed to be fixed.

- Pick/market: This board for years about the OOC schedule “we should never play anyone good.

- OL: The entire season is based on getting our OL and running game in a groove.

- OL: I agree with all of this, which is why the “vanilla” cope makes no sense.

- QB: lol hey me supporting Nicco up to last year was no more ridiculous than Scotty fox busting an 80 yard run and half the board screaming he was the answer lol

- QB/OL: I don’t know how anyone can draw conclusions from what we watched.

- QB: A lot of their guys open were on broken plays and then underneath.

- QB/OL: Oh I meant that to add to your prior last point.

- QB: Or Shaun King Or Anu Solomon Or Matt Scott Or Khalil Tate Or Denard Robinson But yeah other than almost all his QBs, you’re totally right.

- Injury: Rich has had like 2 major qb injuries in his 30+ years as a D1 coach.

- OL: I agree about the offensive line needing reps to gain chemistry, I just question the guy running it up the middle into loaded boxes the whole second half and refusing to adapt his game...

- Pick/market: Our first possession out of half was interesting.

- Injury: My biggest takeaway defensively is that we did a great job of pressuring the QB but because of the poor angles taken, they rarely made a play.

- QB: Feel like this is one area we can really expect big time growth.

- OL/LB: If we are hoping for UVA game to turn perception, we may want to have a Snickers.

- Coaching: Rich can yell at Zach all he wants...but he knows Zach is a great defensive coordinator...he is mostly mad at the breakdown in containment allowing CC QB Deuce Bailey to break free & find...

- OL: Good Sieg is a dude Hawkins looks to be a true dual threat Offensive playcalling Latimer runs angry Bad OL still lacks enough push Defensive scheme still gives up too much Starring LBs look...

- Offense: This definitely needed another thread when it could have just been posted in actual thread.