West Virginia made a long trip to face a crucial moment in their season.
If they lost to Arizona, the Mountaineers would struggle to become bowl eligible. A win would keep their hopes alive for the Big 12 title.
With so much at stake, they played aggressively from the start, scoring on three fourth downs—one of which was a fake field goal—and managed to hold off a late comeback from Arizona to win on Saturday night.
“We felt like this was a critical game for us and we needed to win,” said West Virginia coach Neal Brown. “As I told the guys: we were going to empty the tank.”
After two losses to ranked teams, West Virginia entered the game without three captains, including quarterback Garrett Greene, who got hurt last week against Kansas State.
Nicco Marchiol stepped up in his place, passing for 198 yards with 18 completions on 22 attempts. The Mountaineers (4-4, 3-2 Big 12) supported him with a strong running game, gaining 203 yards and scoring two rushing touchdowns.
Key moments came when they extended drives. West Virginia successfully converted all four of their fourth-down attempts, including their first three touchdowns, and was 7 for 16 on third downs, breaking a two-game losing streak.
“That’s the best we’ve played in a long time,” Brown said.
Arizona’s All-American Tetairoa McMillan bounced back from a quiet performance against Colorado last week, catching 10 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown. He scored on a 34-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and quarterback Noah Fifita added a 3-yard touchdown run, bringing the Wildcats within 31-26 after being down by 18.
However, the Mountaineers didn’t give Arizona (3-5, 1-4) a chance to finish their comeback, converting two crucial third downs to run out the clock and send the Wildcats to their fourth consecutive loss.
“There were moments tonight when I thought we were going to get this done, but they made the plays on that last drive when they had to,” said Arizona coach Brent Brennan.
West Virginia had no problem moving the ball against Arizona’s defense early, especially with their running game.
The Mountaineers started with a field goal and then scored on their next drive with a fake play, as holder Leighton Bechdel ran 14 yards around the left side for a touchdown.
In the second quarter, West Virginia decided to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line and succeeded when Marchiol found Hudson Clement in the back of the end zone.
They did the same on their first drive of the third quarter, scoring on a fourth-and-3 when CJ Donaldson Jr. burst through the left side for a 20-yard touchdown run, making it 24-7.
West Virginia extended their lead to 31-13 early in the fourth quarter when Marchiol connected with Traylon Ray for a 54-yard touchdown pass on second down.
“We just didn’t get off the field,” Arizona safety Owen Goss said. “Coach always preaches get off the field, and I didn’t feel like we did that tonight.” Arizona’s offense was inconsistent.
The Wildcats managed one scoring drive in the first half, taking almost eight minutes off the clock before Quali Conley scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
After that, Arizona struggled until they finally found some momentum late in the third quarter, closing the gap to 24-13 when broken coverage left Sam Olson open for a 23-yard touchdown catch.
The Wildcats tried to rally late, but West Virginia was able to control the game.
