Photo by BlueGoldNews.com WVU quarterback Nikko Marchiol celebrates Saturday’s Big 12 Conference win against Arizona.
MORGANTOWN — Quarterback Nikko Marchiol said West Virginia weathered a ferocious fourth-quarter rally by Arizona State to hold on for a 31-26 victory before a 31-13 lead with less than 14 minutes left on the ice. After it started to melt, it sounded very simple. Corn in the Arizona heat.
All he did, step out from under the shadow of an injured Garrett Green, was return to the desert where he played his final two years of high school football and lead the Mountaineers to a decisive victory that stopped the bleeding. Consecutive losses at home cost him his life.
When WVU needed a play and was staring at multiple close calls, Marchiol made a play.
“That’s the moment we practice all week.” he said. “It’s hard to replicate that look in the first week, in the third game, in a long game, but ultimately my job is to get the ball to the playmakers. Get the ball to Hudson (Clement). , give the ball to Jalen Anderson, give the ball to my guys and make them special. My guys did a great job tonight.”
The Mountaineers faced fourth-down plays four times that night. They converted all of them, including a fourth-down toss to Hudson Clement at the Arizona 3, which was nothing more than a perfect throw and a spectacular catch.
Then there was a fourth-down handoff to CJ Donaldson, who broke through the left side of the offense and drove 20 yards into the end zone. He broke through so cleanly that he could have run all the way from Tucson to Phoenix without being tackled.
There was also a 54-yard scoring attempt to Treylon Ray that extended WVU’s lead to 31-13, but it feels like this team is constantly walking a tightrope in 30 mph winds.
In the end, just before the two-minute timeout, a third-and-seven swing pass to Jalen Anderson, who hadn’t touched the football all night, resulted in a timeout and a first down instead of a punt. The ball goes to Arizona.
WVU is the last thing you want, considering the Wildcats have one of college football’s great offensive weapons in Tetairoa McMillan, who caught 10 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown. All they wanted to do was give Arizona five points and give the ball back. I was in the lead with almost 2 minutes left.
But in the most critical situation, he threw the ball on a chance to a running back who hadn’t touched the football all night, considering the aforementioned plays and fake field goals made by Marchiol, Donaldson, and Hudson. That was probably the best decision of the night. Holder Leighton Beckel ran 14 yards for a score and produced another touchdown.
Marchiol was in complete control of the game from beginning to end, and as player-coach Neil Brown said, he had been in control for two and a half seasons. He completed 18 of 22 attempts for 198 yards and two touchdowns, and ran 11 times for 39 yards.
“He’s ready. That’s what he said.” Mr. Brown said. “He made a lot of big plays. His third-down and fourth-down plays in the second half were important.”
There, the Mountaineers jumped to 4-4 after a sick week, but whether Brown wants it or not, he also has quarterback controversy.
When the game started, the Mountaineers couldn’t have put up a better effort against them. They had to travel an unprecedented distance to Arizona State for a conference game, which is funny because it was 98 degrees when they arrived, and somehow Neil Brown and For the team, it felt hotter back home.
They need to bring something good to them, and Brown knows that, but the team likely won’t be able to move forward with Morgantown’s quarterback Garrett Green, offensive tackle Wyatt Milam and safety Aubrey Burks. Three of the best players back home were separated by injuries.
It’s not very easy trying to make things right on the road in the heat, without a quarterback, with angry fans. “Almost heaven”But Brown and company got in there headfirst, handed the ball to Marchiol, who had a bad run a week ago, and got him loose.
“I have no qualms about playing Nico. I think he’ll be ready.” Brown said in the pregame interview. “I can’t wait to see him.”
Brown said it was a tough situation for him coming off the bench last week when Green was injured.
“It’s made it a lot easier to start the game. He’s getting all the reps and the game plan is centered around what he’s good at, so I think he’ll play better this week.” Mr. Brown said. “Last week, he went into the second half with a plan that centered around Garrett’s strengths. He wasn’t ready and didn’t play very well.”
This was only Marchiol’s second career start. His first start came in a win against Texas Tech last year, replacing Green, who was injured in a backyard brawl and almost contributed to the win.
“This kid is a winner and we planned this week around what he’s good at. I believe he’s going to come in here today and do what he’s good at.”
Ball-controlled football, some nifty passing from Marchiol, who completed 11 of 13 for 98 yards and a touchdown in the first half, combined with some neat passes, led to halftime. They got off to a good start, leading 17-7 at the end of the first half. A ruse.
Where do I start?
Let’s start with Marchiol, who is left-handed, since football seems to revolve around quarterbacks.
Well, as usual, WVU won the toss and took the ball…a 12-play drive that covered only 48 yards all the way down the field, but Michael Hayes survived three penalties to end it. They showed that they were there to play. He made a 44-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Shortly after, the Mountaineers actually recovered the fumble, only the third time it had occurred all season, and set off on another drive.
It looked like the game would stall as well and they would have to settle for a field goal, but at the Arizona 14, Brown sent his field goal unit on a fourth-and-2.
However, it turned out to be a fake, and he had more than just his arm hidden in his sleeve. Holder Leighton Bechdel took the snap, pulled it up instead of putting it down — much like Lucy would do to Charlie Brown — and raced around left end. He gained 14 yards and scored a touchdown to make it 10-0.
WVU scored 10 points in the first quarter and Arizona dominated with just five plays, but the Wildcats, who have had their own struggles, entered the trick play chapter of their playbook and double passes from WVU. pulled out. Noah Fifita to Teitairoa McMillan. McMillan scrambled and threw it back to Fifita for a first down.
This drive led to Arizona’s only touchdown, making it 10-7.
The Mountaineers were looking for a big play, and Jahiem White provided one by running 55 yards down the sideline from near the right end before being taken down by the last defender.
WVU took over at No. 8 and looked like they were going to make a field goal, but Brown decided to go for it on fourth-and-3 and Marchiol threw a bullet to Hudson Clement as he crossed in the back of the end zone. He made a jumping catch, put both feet down and scored, giving WVU a 17-7 lead heading into halftime.
The tone for the second half was set right out of the locker room when Zae Jennings made a bone-jarring tackle on the kickoff at the Arizona 12, forcing the Mountaineers into a three-and-out. After applying pressure on Arizona’s punt, the Mountaineers made a short kick for the Wildcats’ 44 points.
They chipped away at the field and ended up facing 4-3 in the 20th inning. There was no scheme, just an off-tackle play to the left, and CJ Donaldson could have run all the way to Phoenix, but he was content to stop after the cross. He crossed the goal line to make it 24-7.
From there it was really difficult.
