MORGANTOWN — The football teams of West Virginia University and the University of Arizona both find themselves in essentially the same spot as they prepare for Saturday’s 7 p.m. clash, and it’s not a very good one.
“Both teams need a win,” WVU coach Neal Brown said.
Both the Mountaineers and Wildcats began the season with high hopes and are now trying to keep the 2024 season from getting away from them. West Virginia was considered a trendy dark horse pick to win the Big 12 at the season’s outset, but back-to-back conference losses have the Mountaineers scrambling. Arizona climbed as high as No. 20 in the Associated Press Top 25, but is now trying to avoid going 0-for-October.
Somebody’s losing streak will continue after Saturday, and both the Mountaineers (3-4, 2-2 Big 12) and the Wildcats (3-4, 1-3 Big 12) hope to reverse their fortunes and climb into bowl contention.
WVU offensive lineman Ja’Quay Hubbard said the outcome of tonight’s game will hinge upon a couple of simple things.
“Who cares more and who’s going to execute more?” Hubbard said. “It’s a back-against-the-wall mentality.”
Execution has been an issue for both teams over the last few games. West Virginia had a golden opportunity in its last two games – nationally televised night home games with a raucous audience cheering them on against a pair of nationally ranked foes. In both of those games, early chances slipped away under a tidal wave of mistakes.
The offense suffered through a pair of interceptions from quarterback Garrett Greene against both Iowa State and Kansas State. This week, Greene isn’t even guaranteed to play. He missed the second half of the KSU game with a head injury and Brown said during his Thursday coach’s show that Greene and starting left tackle Wyatt Milum’s status for the Arizona game remained up in the air.
Defensively, the Mountaineers couldn’t get off the field when it mattered most. WVU gave up 19 third and fourth down conversions combined against ISU and KSU. Those lengthened drives that turned into points that allowed Iowa State and Kansas State to pull away from West Virginia.
Linebacker Reid Carrico said the Mountaineers have to own their errors and fix them if they want to get back to winning.
“You watch film, you understand what you did wrong on this play,” he said. “If it was you, if it was your mistake, you’ve got to look at film, make sure you understand where you messed up, what you need to do better.
“And then when you go out the next practice after the game … then you’ve got to fix it,” he added, “and then after it’s fixed, you’ve got to keep it fixed. This is all about don’t make the same mistake twice, and that is incredibly hard to do. But, you know, that’s what you’ve got to strive for.”
The Wildcats need to rekindle an offensive spark that disappeared following Arizona’s season opener. In that game, Arizona pummeled New Mexico 61-39, but the Wildcats haven’t scored more than 23 points in a game since. They could manage just one touchdown in their last game, a 34-7 home loss to Colorado.
A solution to their scoring woes could be reestablishing a scoring connection between quarterback Noah Fifita and receiver Tetairoa McMilan. McMilan, a preseason first-team All-American for several outlets, hasn’t scored a touchdown since that opening win over New Mexico, where he set a career high with four TDs. The Mountaineers rank 111th nationally in allowing 254.3 passing yards per game and sit at 127th in allowing opposing quarterbacks to operate at a 162.31 passer rating.
Tonight is a battle between teams with unrealized expectations. Hubbard said there is still enough good energy within WVU’s locker room to reverse the Mountaineers’ fortunes.
“No one’s happy where we’re at right now,” Hubbard said, “but there are a lot of positive vibes still in the locker room. We love each other. We work hard, day in and day out. So you know, if one opportunity doesn’t go our way, we’re not just gonna tuck our tails. We love each other way too much.
“So yeah, the energy is good,” he continued. “We’re looking to get a win and kind of get the last two games behind us.”
— Story by Derek Redd
