Now that the game’s in the books, it’s time to take a step back and talk about what stood out
The Big 12 and TNT Sports were made for each other.
If the Big 12 has any sense, they’ll work out a deal with TNT Sports when the next TV deal comes around to become
the their main TV partner. The difference in quality compared to ESPN’s filler crews or FS1’s mid-tier broadcasts is obvious. The TV crew sound like they’ve done their homework and actually know about the teams playing the game, which is something that plagues the tertiary ESPN networks. Even with the hilariously broken mic during Scotty Fox’s postgame interview, the TNT crew gave a game between two 3-6 teams far better treatment than the game would have received stuck on ESPNU or Plus. They’re back on TNT/TruTV/HBO Max again next week, and if the Mountaineers can somehow avoid the ESPN networks again for the season finale against Texas Tech on November 29th, that would just be icing on the cake.
As an added bonus for West Virginia, it’s been a quiet blessing to stay off ESPN entirely while Disney and YouTube TV fight over carriage fees. In the past two weeks, WVU’s landed on FS1 and TNT — and both games were not only accessible to more viewers but turned out to be legitimately entertaining wins. That kind of visibility matters, especially for a 4–6 team trying to claw back into relevance. You win on national TV, you remind people you exist.
Frankly, the Big 12 gets buried behind the SEC, Big Ten, and even the ACC on ESPN as it stands. There’s no real incentive for the network to elevate the conference’s coverage when their priorities are tied elsewhere. That’s why the idea of TNT or another network that can actually showcase the conference should be so appealing to Brett Yormark.
Michael Coats Jr. is the real deal
If he’s not playing on Sundays soon, it’ll be a shock — though hopefully not until after the 2026 season. Coats’ story doesn’t read like your typical college football player’s. He didn’t even play in high school. He worked nights at an arcade, found a JUCO tryout on Facebook, and turned that chance into a Division I career. After stops at East Central CC and Nevada, he’s now locking down Big 12 receivers weekly. For someone who’s spent as little time in the game as he has, he plays like he’s been at this forever.
He led the Mountaineers today with three pass breakups and will almost certainly grade out as one of, if not the top, defensive players in Pro Football Focus’ review of the game.
Here’s hoping Coats can work with Jimmori Robinson’s lawyer to take advantage of the Deigo Pavia ruling and get another season in Morgantown. He’s one of several seniors in the same situation whose return would be a massive boost heading into 2026. If there’s a way to make the math work, WVU should absolutely push for it. You know every other program would.
Credit where it’s due — this team responded.
WVU looked cooked after UCF. They hit rock bottom. Since then, Rich Rodriguez and his staff have squeezed everything they can out of this roster. Moving Curtis Jones Jr. into short-yardage duty on offense might’ve looked like desperation, but it was brilliant. They found something that worked with a roster held together by chewing gum and duct tape. It’s the kind of creativity that has defined Rich Rod at his best.
You can tell that internally they think they’ve turned a corner — even though they might still finish 4–8 or 3–9 — because he’s flipping out on the sideline after every play. This is a team that’s starting to figure themselves out, and maybe, finally, settling into what Coach Rod has been looking for all season.
.redcircle-link:link { color: #ea404d; text-decoration: none; } .redcircle-link:hover { color: #ea404d; } .redcircle-link:active { color: #ea404d; } .redcircle-link:visited { color: #ea404d; }
Powered by RedCircle Subscribe Now! Spotify Apple Podcasts Amazon Music RSS
.redcircle-link:link { color: #ea404d; text-decoration: none; } .redcircle-link:hover { color: #ea404d; } .redcircle-link:active { color: #ea404d; } .redcircle-link:visited { color: #ea404d; }Powered by RedCircle Subscribe Now! Spotify Apple Podcasts Amazon Music RSS
