The West Virginia football team did just enough to beat Arizona 31-26 on the road to move 3-2 in the Big 12 Conference.
The Mountaineers are now 4-4 on the season, and WVSports.com looks back at what unfolded in our weekly feature The Day After.
HOT:
Nicco Marchiol. West Virginia needed their backup quarterback to step in and play well and Marchiol did just that. He only misfired on four of his 22 pass attempts and threw for 198 yards and 2 touchdowns without any turnovers. He also added 39 yards on the ground and made plays when it mattered most for this team. For the most part Marchiol has played well when called upon and he didn't disappoint in this one either.
Special teams. West Virginia allowed only 3 yards on two punt return attempts, had a crushing hit by Zae Jennings to back up the Wildcats, punted the ball well and even scored a touchdown on a fake field goal. This was a good day all around.
The line of scrimmage. West Virginia won the battle up front rushing for 203 yards on offense while holding the Wildcats to just 78 total rushing yards. The Mountaineers had their issues in the back end of the defense, but they won up front yet again. And on offense, West Virginia was able to control the football and won the time of possession by 10:08 despite running just three more plays. Jahiem White had 92 yards on just 12 carries including a 55-yard run and it was a battle the Mountaineers won.
Fourth down and play calling. West Virginia was a perfect 4-4 in fourth-down situations in this game and even scored three touchdowns in those situations. West Virginia head coach Neal Brown also called a good game around Marchiol as he was creative with how he used his pieces and dialed up some very good plays in clutch situations. That included throwing the pass for the first down to end the game.
NOT:
Pass defense. This almost is what it is at this stage of the season but the Mountaineers again struggled in this department especially late in the game. West Virginia surrendered 308 passing yards, including 202 to Tetairoa McMillan. That included two passes where the Wildcats were able to get him matched up against Trey Lathan down the field in the zone coverage which isn't a winning formula. Some of that is due to Arizona buying time and making plays off schedule but again it stands out as a negative for the Mountaineers. Injuries have certainly played a role here, but quite simply this has to get better or the defense is going to continue to struggle.
Penalties. West Virginia was flagged 7 times for 48 yards and some of them were costly as they essentially killed drives. The Mountaineers can't afford to beat themselves and that was an issue in this one.
DEFINING MOMENTS:
3rd and 14 from UA 32. After a strong opening drive, West Virginia stalled after a series of penalties and elected to throw a screen on 3rd and 14 for just five yards. That resulted in a 45-yard field goal attempt to give the Mountaineers a 3-0 lead to start the scoring.
2nd and 7 from WVU 35. After McMillan got loose for a 28-yard gain, the Wildcats were moving the ball deep into Mountaineers territory when Keke Tarnue came up and jarred the ball loose from Quali Conley and the fumble was recovered by Garnett Hollis giving the ball back to the offense.
3rd and 9 from UA 47. Marchiol stood in the pocket and facing a third and long and fired the ball into Rodney Gallagher for a 15-yard gain to move the sticks.
4th and 2 from UA 14. After being stopped on third down, West Virginia lined up for a field goal attempt on their second drive and holder Leighton Bechdel pulled the ball and took off down the left sideline for a 14-yard touchdown run on the fake to put the Mountaineers ahead 10-0.
3rd and 3 WVU 7. After already converting two third downs on the drive, Arizona had another deep in West Virginia territory and the Wildcats went to McMillan who was manned up by Garnett Hollis for a first down. The Wildcats would score on the next play to cut it to 10-7.
1st and 10 from WVU 37. Jahiem White came in motion across the formation and was handed the ball and took off down the left sideline for a 55-yard run although he was tackled inside the 10.
4th and goal from 3. West Virginia elected to roll the dice on third down and Marchiol fired a ball to the back of the end zone where Clement came down with the football to put the score at 17-7.
3rd and 4 from UA 31. The Mountaineers recorded their first third down stop of the game when Fifita didn’t have anything open and tucked the ball to try to run only to be stopped short of the marker. That forced the first punt of the game with 1:52 remaining in the first half.
3rd and 16 from UA 6. After a TJ Jackson sack on second down, the Wildcats were backed up deep in their own end and elected to run the football and were stopped well short of the marker. The Mountaineers took over at the Arizona 44.
4th and 3 from UA 37. After the third down play was reviewed to make it fourth and short, Brown elected to roll the dice and Marchiol connected with Justin Robinson on a well designed screen pass to keep the offense on the field and the drive alive. The Mountaineers would later cap the drive with a 20-yard touchdown on a fourth down run to make it 24-7.
3rd and 11 from WVU 48. After a three-and-out, West Virginia had Arizona in a tough spot but Fifita threw the ball off one foot and McMillan came down with it for a 23-yard gain and a first down. There was holding on the play regardless, but that would lead to an Arizona touchdown to make the score 24-13.
3rd and 9 from WVU 26. The Mountaineers were on the verge of facing a second straight three and out but on third down Marchiol fired the football to Clement and while the ball was tipped he came down with the ball for a 17-yard gain. Two plays later Marchiol would connect with Traylon Ray for a 54-yard touchdown to make the score 31-13.
4th and 7 from WVU 46. The Mountaineers had a chance to get off the field and effectively end the game but McMillan came up big again with a 17-yard reception to move the sticks. The drive would end with a McMillan touchdown to cut the score to 31-19.
1st and 10 from UA 45. After a three-and-out, Arizona was able to quickly move the ball down the field with a 49-yard pass to McMillan with Trey Lathan in coverage to set the Wildcats up at the Mountaineers six yard line. Fifita would run the ball into the end zone to cut the score to 31-26.
3rd and 2 from WVU 33. White was able to get just enough to move the sticks and pick up a first down to keep the clock running.
3rd and 7 from WVU 39. Marchiol was facing a difficult situation, but with Arizona using their timeouts and the two-minute timeout ahead, the sophomore fired a pass to Jaylen Anderson who picked up nine yards and effectively iced the game for the Mountaineers.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
0 - Turnovers for West Virginia.
2-0 - Big 12 road record for West Virginia.
4-4 - Fourth down conversions by West Virginia, three of which ended in touchdowns.
7 - Points off one turnover for West Virginia.
7-48 - Penalties and yards for West Virginia, they came into the game averaging just 37 yards per game.
9 - Yard reception by Jaylen Anderson on 3rd and 7 to ice the game.
10:08 - Time of possession advantage for West Virginia despite running just three more plays than Arizona.
14 - Consecutive games that West Virginia has started with the football first.
18-22 - Completions and attempts by redshirt sophomore quarterback Nicco Marchiol.
54 - Yard touchdown by Traylon Ray, the longest pass play of the season.
55 - The most yards from scrimmage that the West Virginia offense has had this season on the run from Jahiem White beating the previous mark of a 52-yard reception from Traylon Ray.
GAME BALL:
Nicco Marchiol. West Virginia called upon the redshirt sophomore to be the starting quarterback on the road in a must-win contest and he responded by completing 18-22 passes for 198 yards and 2 touchdowns without an interception and then rushed for 39 more yards. He didn't make any glaring mistakes in this game and while it wasn't perfect he flashed his arm talent several times on some impressive throws. Marchiol was at his best in high-pressure situations connecting on a touchdown to Hudson Clement on 4th and goal from the three, dropping a 54-yard touchdown toss down the field to Traylon Ray to thwart the first Arizona comeback attempt and then the 9-yard pass to Jaylen Anderson with the game on the line in a third and 7 situation.
BIGGEST QUESTION/CONCERN MOVING FORWARD:
Does this team have a run in them? West Virginia is now 4-4 on the season and avoided a disastrous 3-5 start by holding on against Arizona and making enough plays to close the book and move to 2-0 on the road in the league this season. The Mountaineers are now 3-2 in the league and while this team isn't anywhere close to where those in and outside the program expected, the table is set for this group to try to make a run.
The first order of business is to get healthy and that is going to be a big issue over the bye week as the Mountaineers were down multiple key players in this one such as starting quarterback Garrett Greene, left tackle Wyatt Milum, wide receiver Jaden Bray, spear Aubrey Burks and cornerback Ayden Garnes, while several others were banged up against the Wildcats. This team gets the bye week at the perfect time considering the health of this team and that is going to be critical for any type of success moving forward as the Mountaineers prepare for the final four games.
West Virginia closes the year after the bye at Cincinnati, at home against Baylor and UCF and then finally on the road at Texas Tech. None of those games are unwinnable propositions, but on the same token, this team could lose any of those contests.
The Mountaineers have the table set and a chance to turn around a very disappointing start with a softer backend of the schedule and the question becomes can this team be consistent enough to get that done?
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