An undermanned West Virginia squad headed out west to face Arizona on Saturday as the Mountaineers looked to break a two-game losing streak.

WVU would pull out all the tricks they had, including scoring three touchdowns on fourth down, as the Mountaineers held on late for a 31-26 victory over Arizona.

West Virginia headed into Saturday’s game knowing they would be without multiple starters on both sides of the ball. The list of unavailable players included quarterback Garrett Greene, left tackle Wyatt Milum, cornerback Ayden Garnes, and safety Aubrey Burks, all guys who are starters.

It would take every last ounce of effort from the Mountaineers as their 18-point, fourth-quarter lead, dwindled to five before West Virginia ultimately was able to hang on for the victory.

Nicco Marchiol made his second career start back in the state where he finished his high school football career. He looked as though he was close to home, moving the ball down the field on WVU’s opening possession. The drive ultimately ended with a 45-yard field goal from West Virginia’s Michael Hayes as they took a 3-0 lead.

Arizona looked to be just as comfortable as the Mountaineers on their first drive but coughed up a fumble deep inside WVU territory. Kekoura Tarnue forced the fumble and Garnett Hollis picked it up for the Mountaineers at their own 19.

Marchiol and company would drive down the field inside the red zone and would look to be sending Hayes out for another field goal. Instead of a field goal from Hayes, it ended with holder Leighton Bechdel keeping the ball for a 14-yard touchdown rush, putting WVU in front 10-0 late in the first quarter.

Arizona responded by going to their star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. Arizona went 75 yards on their drive, finished off with a 1-yard touchdown rush from Quali Conley, but it was McMillan who got them to that point.

McMillan accounted for 52 of the 75 yards on the drive, both as a receiver and as a passer on a trick play.

Marchiol and the Mountaineers would have to go back to the well on fourth down in order to score again as after a timeout they kept the offense on the field on fourth and goal from the Arizona three.

The timeout paid off as Marchiol dotted a pass to Hudson Clement in the back of the end zone as he tiptoed to score a touchdown and give the Mountaineers a 17-7 lead.

That score would hold until the third quarter before the Mountaineers faced another fourth down in the red zone. This time it would be a 4th and 1 and Marchiol handed it to CJ Donaldson who did the rest of the work, breaking away for a 20-yard touchdown, extending the Mountaineer lead to 24-7 with 7:59 to play in the third quarter.

That conversion was the second the Mountaineers picked up on that drive, as Marchiol hit Justin Robinson for an 8-yard reception earlier in the drive.

West Virginia’s secondary had another blunder which Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita made them pay for. Fifita found a wide-open Sam Olson in the end zone for a 23-yard score as no Mountaineer defender was in the vicinity of Olson. The Wildcats missed the extra point attempt, putting WVU’s lead at 24-13.

With the game potentially in the balance, West Virginia faced a 3rd and 9 to start the fourth quarter. Marchiol threaded a pass across the middle to Hudson Clement and even though the ball was tipped, Clement was able to secure the catch.

Two plays later, Marchiol unleashed a home run ball to Traylon Ray for a 54-yard touchdown, increasing WVU’s lead to 31-13.

That would not be the knockout blow though as Arizona’s offense marched 75 yards on 13 plays with Fifita finding McMillan for a 34-yard touchdown. The Wildcats would go for two but be unsuccessful, putting the Mountaineer lead at 31-19 with 8:52 to play.

A holding penalty on a first down rush set the Mountaineers back on the ensuing possession, giving the Wildcats the ball back with 6:02 to play.

McMillan would torture WVU's secondary yet again, as he was left open for a 49-yard reception, setting up an eventual 3-yard touchdown rush from Fifita, cutting WVU's lead to five with 4:35 to play.

West Virginia's offense got the ball back having totaled 91 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter up to that point. The Mountaineers converted a third down on a short run from Jahiem White, before they faced a 3rd and 7 with just over two minutes to play.

Marchiol found third-string running back Jaylen Anderson who caught a tough pass out of the backfield, earning the first down in the process, sealing the victory.

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