After traveling the furthest distance it ever has for a conference game, WVU will be traveling home as winners, having defeated Arizona 31-26 in Tucson.
The Mountaineers were short staffed on Saturday night, missing three captains in safety Aubrey Burks, quarterback Garrett Greene, and offensive tackle Wyatt Milum.
Filling in for Greene and Milum respectively were redshirt sophomore Nicco Marchiol and redshirt freshman Johnny Williams IV. Marchiol made headlines in the win, throwing 18-for-22 to gain 198 yards and score two touchdowns. Marchiol also ran for 39 yards in 11 carries.
Marchiol’s two touchdowns came in impressive fashion, finding Hudson Clement for his first toward the end of the second quarter and throwing long to Traylon Ray to start the fourth quarter with a 54-yard touchdown.
Arguably West Virginia’s most exciting score of the evening came without the help of Marchiol, though, as Leighton Bechdel, who held the ball for a fake field goal attempt by Michael Hayes, ran 14 yards to score and put WVU up 10-0.
Bechdel’s touchdown came thanks in part to Kekoura Tarnue, who forced Arizona running back Quali Conley to fumble shortly beforehand, giving WVU possession. Tarnue finished the game with five tackles. He left the game with an injury at the end of the fourth quarter.
West Virginia’s remaining touchdown came from CJ Donaldson in the third quarter, when he broke free for a 20-yard score on 4th & 1. Alongside Jahiem White, Donaldson led a powerful rushing force in the game. Donaldson took eight carries to gain 41 yards as White ran for 92 yards in 12 carries, including a flashy 55-yard run.
Compared with Arizona’s run game, consisting almost entirely of Quali Conley, WVU outran Arizona 203 yards to 78. Arizona did score twice in the run game, with Conley scoring a 1-yard touchdown for the Wildcats’ first touchdown and quarterback Noah Fifita scoring their last with a three-yard run.
Defensively, the Mountaineers struggled in the fourth quarter, allowing Arizona to outscore them 13-7 in the quarter. Throughout the game, though, they took care of the run game well and only struggled against arguably the best receiver in college football, Tetairoa McMillan. McMillan had 10 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown and also threw a 14-yard pass to his own quarterback in the second quarter.
No matter how ugly, the Mountaineers’ win is a massive energy boost for the now 4-4 team. They will take a break next week before taking a shorter road trip to Cincinnati on Nov. 9.
Photo by Aaron Parker, Blue Gold Sports
