MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – There might be a silver lining in last Saturday's 48-14 loss to Utah at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Khalil Wilkins seemed to get the offense moving a little bit when he was inserted into the game on West Virginia's opening possession of the third quarter.

Wilkins began that drive with a short pass to sophomore Cam Vaughn, then called his own number for 17 yards to midfield. On fourth and 7, Wilkins scrambled for 10 yards to the Utah 40, and then two plays later, underthrew a pass in the general direction of Vaughn, who made a fabulous play to catch the ball and then get into the end zone for a touchdown.

West Virginia's next possession with Wilkins behind center probably should have been a touchdown, too, when he completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Gallagher III that was nullified by an offensive pass interference penalty on Gallagher.

Wilkins' fourth-down pass from Utah's 24 to a wide-open Ryan Ward was off the mark, or else that would have scored as well.

The Mountaineers' third series under Wilkins' direction early in the fourth quarter began with a 68-yard Jarod Bowie reverse to the Utes' 7. Eventually, redshirt freshman Diore Hubbard squeezed in from the 1.

Those three drives with Wilkins accounted for 201 total yards and two touchdowns, while the other seven possessions managed just 145 yards and four first downs.

To say that was all Wilkins' doing is a stretch, for sure, but the Washington, D.C., resident did give the offense a spark it has been desperately seeking.

Wilkins has also seen some limited mop-up action in the Robert Morris and Kansas games, utilized primarily as a runner, and he missed a couple of easy throws against Utah that he might complete down the road with more game reps, Rodriguez conceded.

"Sometimes it's just getting more reps," he observed. "Sometimes you rush it a little bit and you kind of aim it instead of throwing it. Khalil can make all the throws, and obviously, he's a dynamic runner."

Rodriguez added, "We're searching for everything we can to help us, and Khalil has got some explosive-type of ability, and I think his upside and his future looks really good."

Last Wednesday morning, ESPN.com's Bill Connelly ranked all 68 power conference quarterbacks from 1 to 68, and the five-game performance of West Virginia's group placed it near the bottom, just ahead of Kentucky, Northwestern, North Carolina and Oklahoma State.

His analysis of the group so far, "Nicco Marchiol can throw a little. Jaylen Henderson can run. Neither seems to be able to fulfill all the requirements in a Rich Rodriguez offense, however. After Marchiol oversaw a blowout loss at Kansas, Henderson oversaw a blowout loss to Utah. It's possible a third option, Khalil Wilkins, starts against BYU this week after decent work during garbage time last week. Regardless, no answers have emerged so far."

With Marchiol announcing on social media earlier this week his plans to redshirt this season, figuring out his quarterback situation remains issue No. 1 for Rodriguez, but there are other issues he's still dealing with as well.

Running back remains a committee endeavor with Clay Ash and Diore Hubbard earning starts after Jahiem White's season-ending injury at Ohio. Northern Iowa transfer Tye Edwards appeared to be a solution following his 141-yard, three-touchdown performance in West Virginia's 31-24 overtime victory over Pitt, but he hasn't seen the field since.

His name remains one of the 11 on this week's injury report. Fortunately, Cyncir Bowers' name has been removed.

Developing a complementary wide receiver to take some pressure off Vaughn has been another conundrum. With Jaden Bray lost for another season, the onus has fallen on familiar names such as Rodney Gallagher III and Preston Fox, and some not-so-familiar names such as Justin Smith-Brown, Jarod Bowie and Jeff Weimer.

Perhaps some receiving help could also come from a group of tight ends that includes Grayson Barnes, Jacob Barrick or Ryan Ward.

Up front, Carson Lee got his first start at center in place of injured Landen Livingston, who was not listed on this week's injury report, while junior Donovan Haslem got some work at left guard and junior Malik Agbo got some reps at right tackle. Starting right guard Kimo Makane'ole is listed as probable for tonight, bringing the offensive line closer to full strength.

"There was a glimmer of hope for some guys that got some extended time, particularly on offense," Rodriguez noted.

Defensively, the veteran coach singled out the play of sophomore nickel safety Nick Taylor, who made an interception against Utah and was one of the team's more active defenders with eight total tackles. His performance last Saturday was rewarded with a trip to the team room for a visit with the media earlier this week. 

The Appalachian State transfer said he missed two tackles against the Utes that he needs "to clean up," but he felt good about his development the week leading up to the game.

"He can come up and smack you at safety," defensive coordinator Zach Alley said of Taylor.

However, some of the other young players who got an opportunity to play late in the Utah loss did not perform as well, which was disappointing to Alley.

The coordinator said some of the mistakes they were making in the team's two victories were amplified in the three defeats.

Now, the pivot from the team's opening two conference losses to Kansas and Utah will not be an easy one on short notice tonight at 23^rd-ranked BYU, which is 8-2 in Big 12 play over the last two seasons and has lost only six games at home since 2000.

The 4-0 Cougars have grown men across the board on both sides of the ball, and the one who's not is a 6-foot-2, 220-pound freshman quarterback who wears jersey number 47 and is named Bear. Bachmeier is his surname, and he's the team's second-leading rusher behind LJ Martin, another 6-foot-2, 220-pounder with breakaway speed. Martin is averaging 7.3 yards per rush.

BYU is listed as substantial favorites in a game that won't start until 10:30 p.m. on the East Coast.

Getting acclimated to the altitude in Provo is usually a concern for many coaches who haven't played there, but for Rodriguez, it's way down on his list of worries.

"The first time I thought about that is when it was just brought up," he said. "I've played at Colorado and Utah many times, and I've never brought that up with my players."

Following the game tonight, the team will finally get to hit the pause button with an open date on Saturday, Oct. 11.

That will give Rodriguez and his coaching staff an opportunity to take a much deeper dive into their roster that is still in the process of on-boarding 81 new players. What WVU is experiencing in year one under Rodriguez is no different than what Arizona State experienced in Kenny Dillingham's first season in 2023, or Cincinnati's first year with Scott Satterfield.

It's also no different than what Deion Sanders encountered during year one at Colorado nor what Arizona and Houston encountered last season.

Sometimes it just takes some time.

Here is tonight's Countdown to Kickoff:

10 – West Virginia ranks TENTH among Power 4 schools for rushes of TEN or more yards with 37 so far this season.

9 – Sophomore receiver Cam Vaughn ranks NINTH in the Big 12 this week with five receiving plays of more than 20 yards.

8 – The WVU defense has produced multiple-sack games in all but EIGHT of its last 23 games dating back to 2023.

7 – SEVEN different players on defense have recorded at least two tackles for loss this season, led by safety Fred Perry, and linebackers Reid Carrico and Chase Wilson with 3 ½ each.

6 – The Mountaineers have surpassed 140 yards in rushing in all but SIX of their last 43 games since 2022. Last week, WVU had 261 yards on the ground against Utah.

5 – Preston Fox ranks FIFTH in the Big 12 this week averaging 9.1 yards per punt return. That figure also ranks him 39^th nationally.

4 – The WVU defense has registered at least FOUR tackles for loss in 33 out of its last 39 games.

3 – West Virginia's offense accounted for 201 of its 346 yards during the THREE possessions redshirt freshman Khalil Wilkins quarterbacked the team during last week's loss to Utah.

2 – The Mountaineers and Cougars have played TWICE prior, both West Virginia victories in Landover, Maryland, in 2016 and in Morgantown in 2023.

1 – Tonight's game will be West Virginia's FIRST-ever appearance at LaVelle Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah.

ESPN will provide live television coverage with Anish Shrouff, Andre Ware and Paul Carcaterra handling the call.

Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield radio coverage starts with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show at 7:30 p.m. leading into regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning at 9:30 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.