West Virginia head football coach Rich Rodriguez was emotional at the end of the spring game in April when the classic John Denver song, “Take Me Home, Country Roads” played in Milan Puskar Stadium.

The song includes the line, “Country roads, take me home to the place where I belong, West Virginia.”

Rodriguez, 62, is back to the place where he belongs as he has returned to his home state to try to restore glory back to the Mountaineers’ football program.

This summer, BuffZone is previewing each of Colorado’s opponents for the 2025 season and in this installment we look at West Virginia, which will host the Buffs on Nov. 8 in Morgantown, W.V.

Over the past 17 seasons, West Virginia has never had a bad team, but the Mountaineers haven’t achieved the level of greatness they attained during Rich Rod’s first tenure as head coach, from 2001-07.

Nearly 18 years and several stops after his departure, Rich Rod is back at West Virginia, where he started the tradition of playing “Country Roads” at the stadium after a win.

“When you hear that song, it’s good memories,” said Rodriguez, who went 60-26 in his previous tenure, with three consecutive 11-win seasons and top-10 finishes. “Nothing better than a winning locker room, and nothing better than a winning feel playing, ‘Country Roads.’”

The Mountaineers have had 12 winning seasons and 14 bowl appearances since Rich Rod left after the 2007 season, but “Country Roads” hasn’t been played often enough in recent years. During the previous six seasons, Neal Brown went 37-35. The Mountaineers had losing records in four of those six seasons, including 6-7 a year ago.

Rodriguez, who was born in Grant Town, W.Va., played defensive back at West Virginia and had three previous stints on the Mountaineers’ staff, is aiming to fix that.

“I told the players (after the spring game), this is personal to me, this whole thing is,” he said. “I played here, coached here a couple of times. I think our guys understand that.”

Rich Rod led Jacksonville State to three consecutive nine-win seasons before coming to West Virginia in December. He quickly went to work in revamping the program.

In fact, West Virginia is one of the most difficult teams in the Big 12 to project this season because of the turnover. In addition to a new coaching staff, the Mountaineers brought in 52 transfers. Add in the high school recruits and there are nearly 80 new players this season.

While there’s a lot of talent among the newcomers, including some players who were all-conference at their previous stops, how quickly everyone meshes together will be a key to the season.

Getting solid play at quarterback will help, but the Mountaineers aren’t sure who will be behind center.

Last year’s backup, Nicco Marchiol, is back and could be the starter. He grew up in Denver and played at Regis High School for two years before moving to Arizona for his last two years as a prep. In three years at West Virginia, he’s got three starts under his belt, throwing for 434 yards and five touchdowns last year.

Transfers Jaylen Henderson (Texas A&M) and Max Brown (Charlotte) are also competing at QB. Both have started games, and both are at their third schools.

The Mountaineers do have a star in returning running back Jahiem White, and they added some depth to that position.

If the QBs and running backs can get the ground game going in Rich Rod’s offense, West Virginia could be solid.

Last year’s defense gave up 31.9 points per game (109th nationally) and no full-time starters are back. That side of the ball will rely heavily on transfers coming together.

Rich Rod’s return could be a huge boost to the program, but with so many new faces, it’s tough to figure out how good the Mountaineers can be in year No. 1. They could struggle through an adjustment period, but if the talent comes together quickly, they could be a team that pulls off a few surprises.