MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The 133^rd season in West Virginia University football history is upon us. The Mountaineers, once again under the leadership of coach Rich Rodriguez following a 17-year hiatus, resume year eight under his guidance later today by playing host to Robert Morris of the Northeast Conference.

More on the Colonials in a moment.

The return of Rodriguez to his alma mater has been a national story since the moment Wren Baker made the unlikely announcement last Dec. 12, 2024. 

Since then, Rodriguez has kept the Mountaineers in the news.

Most recently, Baker's surprising choice of bringing Rodriguez back to West Virginia earned a Herbie Award from ESPN college football expert Kirk Herbstreit as the best offseason coaching hire, edging out North Carolina's Bill Belichick and Purdue's Barry Odom.

"We know what Rich Rod is going to do, and how about him with his press conferences?" Herbstreit said. "We've got a character back in the limelight, which I just love to see. He's just very direct. He says, 'We've got everything here. We've got an ice cream (machine) back here. We've got sprinkles. We've got it all – more than these guys need!' 

"He's going to be a lot of fun," Herbstreit concluded.

Rodriguez said it will be a "little surreal" when he runs out into the stadium once again, just like it was when he had his introductory press conference in the WVU Coliseum last December, but the nostalgia will end once the opening coin toss takes place.

After 28 years in the coaching profession, he admits there will still be some butterflies in his stomach right before kickoff.

"I think it's okay to be nervous for a little bit, and I think it's okay for our players to be a little bit nervous because it matters to you," Rodriguez explained.

The veteran coach with 190 career victories concedes the only way this reunion is going to work is if his football team returns to the same winning ways it enjoyed when the first pairing ended in 2007 with the Mountaineers on the cusp of a BCS championship game appearance.

After three seasons of Bill Stewart in the Big East and then a move to the Big 12 Conference in 2012, West Virginia tried to become more-Big 12-like by hiring Air Raid disciples Dana Holgorsen and Neal Brown. 

Now, in the midst of a seven-year, 100-week Associated Press Top 25 poll drought, the Mountaineers are hoping Rodriguez can help them once again become the best versions of themselves with a high-tempo, spread offensive attack and an aggressive, opportunistic defense.

Through the years, Rodriguez has tried out many different slogans before settling on "hard-edge" to describe his methodology, which is based on toughness and unrelenting effort – characteristics fans are eager to see return to their Mountaineer football teams.

Joining Rich Rod is a new coaching staff with many old faces and 79 new players, putting West Virginia's roster turnover among the highest in FBS football this season.

In fact, there are so many new faces the depth chart released earlier this week became front-page news, even if it was comprised of several "ors," meaning positions have yet to be solidified. 

The all-important quarterback spot has five different players listed as "or" on the depth chart, starting at the top with redshirt junior Nicco Marchiol, one of the few returning players with any Big 12 experience. Also listed are Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson, Charlotte transfer Max Brown, promising true freshman Scotty Fox Jr. and promising redshirt freshman Khalil Wilkins.

Rodriguez has said multiple quarterbacks will see action today, perhaps even all of them.

Other areas on offense where uncertainty still reigns are at Y wide receiver, where holdover Rodney Gallagher III, Eastern Michigan transfer Oran Singleton Jr. and Jacksonville State transfer Jarod Bowie remain locked in battle; at tight end, where Northern Illinois transfer Grayson Barnes and Jacksonville State transfer Jacob Barrick are still competing; at backup X where South Carolina State transfer Justin Smith-Brown and Idaho State transfer Jeff Weimer are listed behind Cam Vaughn; and at backup running back, where Clay Ash, Iowa Central Community College transfer Cyncir Bowers and redshirt freshman Diore Hubbard are fighting for reps behind game-one starter Jahiem White.

On the defensive side of the ball, Southern Illinois transfer Ben Bogle and North Carolina transfer Ashton Woods are battling for backup mike linebacker reps behind senior Reid Carrico.

Senior Kekoura Tarnue and Jacksonville State transfer Derek Carter Jr. are competing for the backup free safety spot behind sophomore Israel Boyce, and Washington transfer Justin Harrington and Chattanooga transfer Jordan Walker are fighting for reps at boundary safety behind Akron transfer Darrian Lewis.

Of course, all positions are subject to change based on performance.

"We think we have a lot of guys who deserve the opportunity to play, so getting them into the game in the right situations and making sure they are paying attention (will be important for the staff)," Rodriguez observed. "Everybody on the sidelines has to be laser focused."

A federal judge recently ruled transfers Weimer, Harrington, running back Tye Edwards and bandit linebacker Jimmori Robinson are eligible to play this year.

Of the four, Robinson's status still remains unresolved, however, and Rodriguez indicated previously that they continue to work with West Virginia University's general counsel on an interpretation of Robinson's availability for the 2025 season.

Robert Morris, too, will be showcasing a new football team in coach Bernard Clark Jr.'s eighth season in Coraopolis. Last year's squad posted a 7-5 overall record, including a 4-2 mark in conference play, and was led by quarterback Anthony Chiccitt, who is now displaying his talents at Temple.

Returner Zach Tanner beat out Harvard transfer Ameer Dudley in a preseason battle for the starting quarterback job. Tanner, from Winter Haven, Florida, is one of nine Sunshine State products on this year's Robert Morris roster, which is not surprising considering Clark was a standout linebacker on Miami's national championship teams in 1987 and 1989.

The Colonials' starting lineup is littered with transfer players, as well.

Among the wide receivers, starting X Thomas Lee hails from Bluefield College, starting Z Tyler Evans spent last season at West Virginia and starting slot Kai Holloway transferred from Maryland.

Up front, left tackle Riley Piper hails from Antelope Valley College, starting left guard Pete Jarvis once played at Toledo, starting right guard Marc Koumoundoras is from St. Francis (Ill.) and starting tight end Richard Ransom transferred from Coffeyville Junior College.

"This is the least I've ever known about an opposing team," West Virginia defensive coordinator Zac Alley admitted. 

Defensively, the transfers include starting nose tackle Okechukwu Egbuziem from South Dakota, starting mike linebacker Patrick McDonnell from Walsh, starting sam linebacker Jakari Patterson from Austin Peay, starting free safety Elijah Davis from Ball State and starting strong safety Carter Odell from Florida Atlantic.

RMU's special teams include backup punter and starting holder Nate Ost from Ohio State and kick returner Owen McGraw from Eastern Michigan.

Anything either coach says about the other team is purely guesswork at this point.

"There are so many unknowns," Rodriguez admitted. "They have three new coordinators, so they could be something totally new, too. Who is going to be doing it? There is a little guesswork on both ends, I guess.

"You've got to play a game to find out, and the hardest part about a first game is it's a little different on game day, and we'll find out about some certain guys on Saturday," he said.

Robert Morris last qualified for the FCS playoffs in 2010 when Joe Walton was coaching the team. Walton's name, incidentally, is on their football stadium.

The contest will be Robert Morris' first-ever visit to Milan Puskar Stadium.

Here is today's Countdown to Kickoff:

10 – Rich Rodriguez has coached a player that was named Offensive Player of the Year TEN times during his 28-year career.

9 – NINE former Mountaineer players survived cutdown day and are on active NFL rosters as of Wednesday, Aug. 27. They are Rex Sunahara (Cleveland Browns), Dante Stills (Arizona Cardinals), Rasul Douglas (Miami Dolphins), David Sills V (Atlanta Falcons), Wyatt Milum (Jacksonville Jaguars), Geno Smith (Las Vegas Raiders), Zach Frazier (Pittsburgh Steelers), Austin Brinkman (Houston Texans) and Colton McKivitz (San Francisco 49ers).

8 – EIGHT different positions on offense and defense have "ors" listed on the depth chart released earlier this week, including all five quarterbacks.

7 – SEVEN different Mountaineer players have appeared in at least 37 career games during their college football careers heading into today's season opener: Kekoura Tarnue (44), Jordan Walker (43), Chase Wilson (42), Preston Fox (41), Ty'Kieast Crawford (39), Oliver Straw and Eddie Kelly Jr. (37).

6 – The last time West Virginia had at least SIX defensive or special teams touchdowns in a season happened in 2011 when the Mountaineers scored six. The most since 2000 were the 10 produced that season.

5 – The Mountaineers have scored at least 49 points in each of their last FIVE games against FCS opponents dating back to 2020. WVU defeated Eastern Kentucky 56-10 in 2020, LIU 66-0 in 2021, Towson 65-7 in 2022, Duquesne 56-17 in 2023 and UAlbany 49-14 last year.

4 – Rich Rodriguez won his last FOUR home openers during his first tour of duty at West Virginia in 2004 (East Carolina), 2005 (Wofford), 2006 (Marshall) and 2007 (Western Michigan).

3 – West Virginia's roster this year features players from 23 different states and THREE different countries – Australia (Oliver Straw), Finland (Edward Vesterinen) and Liberia (Kekoura Tarnue).

2 – Rich Rodriguez is one victory shy of tying Dana Holgorsen for SECOND on West Virginia's all-time wins list behind leader Don Nehlen with 149. Holgorsen earned 61 victories from 2011-18, one more than Rodriguez registered during his first tenure here from 2001-07 when he went 60-26.

1 – Today's game will be Robert Morris' FIRST-ever visit to Milan Puskar Stadium.

A special 2 p.m. kickoff has been assigned for today's Gold Rush Game, meaning all fans are encouraged to wear their gold to the stadium. 

ESPN+ (Brian Custer and Max Starks) will provide television analysis.

Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield radio coverage gets underway at 11 a.m. with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show leading into regular network coverage at 1 p.m. with veteran play-by-play man Tony Caridi, analyst Dwight Wallace and sideline reporter Jed Drenning providing commentary.

The broadcast can be heard on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.

Be sure to stop by afterward for complete postgame coverage.