MORGANTOWN — Nicco Marchiol had plenty of reasons to be nervous Saturday night.
He was making his first start of the season at quarterback for an injured Garrett Greene in his home state of Arizona. His West Virginia University football team was in desperate need of a win, just as desperate as Saturday’s opponent, Arizona.
Then, to add even more indigestion, he proceeded to watch the Mountaineers’ 18-point lead shrink to five points in the final minutes.
Yet Marchiol didn’t shrink from the moment. He stayed as steady as had been all night and made the necessary plays to allow WVU to escape Arizona with a 31-25 win.
“I’m really proud of Nicco stepping up,” WVU coach Neal Brown said after the game. “He’s been ready. I’ve been saying he’s been ready and he made a bunch of big plays.”
It looked like Marchiol would cruise to the win early in the game. Everything was going right for the Mountaineers as they built a 24-7 lead behind Marchiol’s level-headed play.
Greene is a dynamic playmaker. He’s shown that skill throughout his WVU career. Yet West Virginia’s coaches, and Greene himself, will admit that he sometimes tries to do too much, to swing for the fences when all he needs to do is put the ball in play. In WVU’s previous two games, losses to Kansas State and Iowa State, those bad decisions sometimes turned into opponents’ points through interceptions.
Marchiol never put the Mountaineers in a bad position Saturday. He threw the ball where and when he needed to. He kept plays alive with his feet. Rather than going for the home run every play, he was fine with smacking a few singles and doubles.
Marchiol finished the game completing 18 of 22 passes for 198 yards, two touchdowns and – most importantly – no interceptions. He also rushed for 39 yards on 11 carries.
And when Marchiol needed to be spectacular rather than simply steady, he came through. Nowhere was that more evident than WVU’s final scoring drive. The Wildcats had just cut WVU’s lead to 24-13 at the end of the third quarter. On the ensuing drive, the Arizona defense had forced WVU into a third and 9 at the Mountaineer 26.
On that play, Marchiol threaded a pass through the Wildcats defense and into the hands of Hudson Clement for a 17-yard gain and a first down. Two plays later, Marchiol launched a throw down the right sideline into the waiting arms of Traylon Ray, who ran it into the end zone for a 54-yard touchdown.
“We came out and liked the look,” Marchiol said. “We had great protection up front and I just put it only where T-Ray could get it.
“That’s one of those plays, where it’s all timing and connections,” he added. “And Traylon Ray, I trust him 100% of the time to get where he needs to be. And my job’s the easy part, just throwing it up and letting him go be special.”
Marchiol was special himself in one more big fourth-quarter play. WVU’s defense, which had been solid the entire game, finally showed its warts at the end, allowing two late Arizona touchdowns and letting the lead dwindle to five points. If the Wildcats were able to get the ball back, there was no telling whether Arizona might be able to pull off a shocking comeback.
And with 2:08 left in the game, the Wildcats had forced WVU into a third and 7 on the Mountaineer 39. Yet Marchiol didn’t flinch. Rather than play hero ball and force a difficult throw, he found Jaylen Anderson in the flat, who sprinted up the sideline for a nine-yard gain, a first down and the opening West Virginia needed to kneel out the rest of the game clock.
“Those are the moments you practice for all week,” Marchiol said. “Third and goal, game on the line. But in the end, my job is still the same: get the ball to the playmakers.”
Marchiol passed another part of his job with flying colors – keeping WVU out of harm’s way. WVU hasn’t thrown the football as accurately in a game as Marchiol’s 82% since at least 2016. He took just one sack in the game. And WVU went turnover-free for the first time since beating Oklahoma State and for just the second time all season.
“He’s been patient and waited his time,” Brown said of Marchiol. “He’s a winner. He plays and he wins.”
Now, will he get another chance to play and win this year? Greene’s struggles this season had some fans wondering if it was time for Marchiol to take over. Brown seemed to dash those ideas earlier this week, pointing out the two long drives Greene took the Mountaineers on against Kansas State right before he left the game with a head injury. And it’s never a good idea to let a player lose a starting job just because he got hurt.
But, if anything, what this does is give WVU the confidence that, when called upon, Marchiol can step up in high-stress situations.
He saw plenty of them Saturday, and navigated them all.
— Story by Derek Redd
