TUCSON, Ariz. — West Virginia travelled across the country facing a crossroads.
Lose at Arizona, the Mountaineers would have to fight just to become bowl eligible. Win and they still have a shot at being in the mix for the Big 12 title.
No reason to be passive with so much on the line so far away from home.
Aggressive from the start, West Virginia scored three times on fourth downs — one on a fake field goal — and held off a late Arizona rally to win 31-26 on Saturday night.
“We felt like this was a critical game for us and we needed to win,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said. “As I told the guys: we were going to empty the tank.”
Coming off two double-digit losses to ranked opponents, West Virginia arrived in the desert missing three captains, including quarterback Garrett Greene, hurt last week against Kansas State.
Nicco Marchiol was sharp in his place, throwing for 198 yards on 18-of-22 passing. The Mountaineers (4-4, 3-2 Big 12) complemented his performance with a pounding run game, rushing for 203 yards and two touchdowns.
The key plays came on drive-extending plays.
West Virginia converted all four of its fourth-down chances, including its first three touchdowns, and was 7 for 16 on third downs to end a two-game losing streak.
“That’s the best we’ve played in a long time,” Brown said.
Arizona All-American Tetairoa McMillan bounced back from a quiet game against Colorado last week with 10 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown. He caught a 34-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and quarterback Noah Fifita added a 3-yard TD run to pull the Wildcats within 31-26 after trailing by 18.
The Mountaineers never gave Arizona (3-5, 1-4) a chance to complete the rally, converting two key third downs to grind out the clock and send the Wildcats to their fourth straight loss.
“There were moments tonight and I thought we were going to get this done, but they made the plays on that last drive when they had to,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said.
West Virginia had no trouble moving the ball against Arizona’s defense early, particularly on the ground.
The Mountaineers opened with a field goal and scored the next drive on a fake when holder Leighton Bechdel went 14 yards around the left end for a touchdown.
West Virginia opted to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3 in the second quarter and converted when Marchiol found Hudson Clement in the back of the end zone. The Mountaineers did it again on the opening drive of the third quarter, scoring on a fourth-and-3 when CJ Donaldson Jr. burst through the left side for a 20-yard TD run that put West Virginia up 24-7.
West Virginia pushed its lead to 31-13 early in the fourth quarter when Marchiol found Traylon Ray on a 54-yard touchdown pass — this time on second down.
“We just didn’t get off the field,” Arizona safety Owen Goss said. “Coach always preaches get off the field and didn’t feel like we did that tonight.”
Arizona’s offense was hit or miss.
The Wildcats put together one scoring drive in the first half, eating up nearly eight minutes of the clock before Quali Conley scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
Arizona spent the rest of the time sputtering until finding a rhythm late in the third quarter, pulling within 24-13 when broken coverage left Sam Olson wide open for a 23-yard touchdown catch.
The Wildcats managed to rally late before West Virginia ground out the game.
Loop’s miss
Arizona kicker Tyler Loop had been perfect on extra points during his career, hitting 119 straight.
The streak came to an end after Olson’s touchdown when he missed wide left.
The takeaway
West Virginia used its balance to pick up a solid road win with its backup quarterback. Arizona struggled against West Virginia’s run game and its offense came to life too late, putting the Wildcats in a difficult spot to become bowl eligible in a season where they were once ranked No. 20.
Up next
West Virginia: plays at Cincinnati on Nov. 9.
