On just the second drive of the game, Garrett Greene turned on the jets and scrambled for a 39-yard gain. Greene would be slow to get up, with his right arm not moving.
As West Virginia fans held their breath, Nicco Marchiol was able to ease their doubts, throwing a strike of a touchdown pass and then leading another touchdown drive before Greene came back in the game.
"Credit Nicco, I've said this going back to the spring, I felt like we had quarterbacks that were capable of winning in the Big 12, I think we showed that today," West Virginia head coach Neal Brown said.
After the first touchdown, Marchiol got the ball again and this time made his presence known right away.
On the first play of the series, Marchiol ran for an 18-yard rush which included hitting a defender as he picked up more yards. WVU eventually punched in another touchdown with Marchiol handing the ball off to Jahiem White for a 10-yard score.
"I was preoccupied for the majority part of when he was in that first half. Me and Nicco, we meet a lot, we talk a lot. The confidence I have in him, the wide receivers, and the o-line and the running backs have in him, he's going to be a phenomenal player here and he stepped up really, really, big when I went down — trucked somebody which if you want to play a full season probably not the best. He's a great player, an even better person, so I'm happy he came in and did well," Greene said of Marchiol.
Marchiol is in his third season with West Virginia. A highly touted recruit out of Arizona, Marchiol started one game last season and played the majority of another as Greene dealt with injuries.
His progression from then to now, almost a year later, is a night and day difference according to Brown.
"So what I've told him is when he played last year, we couldn't call the game just like when Garrett was here. We couldn't do that. And part of that was he wasn't completely ready, and part of that is we didn't have a third (quarterback). So now we have a third that we feel really good about in Ryder Burton," Brown said.
Since last year, Brown has seen Marchiol grow as a person and player, citing his aturity and how he continues to develop.
"He's mature and he's kept getting better," Brown said. "Like, I know, like, I say that, and y'all are like, ah, whatever. But, like, he's gotten a lot better, and, like, he's capable of winning games right now. And so, as soon as Garrett was down, I knew he was going to be out for a little bit and I told Nicco, hey, the same thing I told you on Thursday is how we're going to handle this. We're going to call the game just like you're in, or just like Garrett was in. You know the plan.
"We're intentional during the week to get him reps and so we have a lot of faith in him. And he came in threw a strike, you know, and that was a third and goal, they dropped back and Traylon Ray ran a great route. Not a good route, a great route and he put it right on him. So proud of both of those guys."
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