Week 9 of the college football season is here and despite there not being a ranked matchup this weekend in the Big 12, there is still plenty on the line with conference play in full swing. One of the most underrated games of the weekend took place in Tucson, Arizona as the Arizona Wildcats hosted the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Arizona is fresh off a bad loss against Colorado at home, while West Virginia suffered a terrible loss of their own against Kansas State. Both teams were in desperate need of a win as they look to end their losing streaks but, in the end, West Virginia came out on top 31-26. Here are my top three takeaways from the game.
No Greene, No Problem
Despite starting quarterback Garrett Greene being out due to an injury, I thought backup quarterback Nicco Marchiol did a nice job in his absence. Nicco went 18/22 for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Most importantly, he didn’t turn the football over in this game. As good as Nicco was, he did have plenty of help in the run game. The Mountaineers offense racked up over 200 yards on the ground led by Jahiem White who finished with nearly 100 yards. West Virginia still has a few things to clean up, but I thought this offense looked surprisingly good with a backup quarterback playing on the road.
Arizona Found Their Offense
Coming into the season, the one thing that everyone could count on with Arizona was their offense. With Noah Fifita coming back along with Tetairoa McMillan, the Wildcats offense was supposed to be electric. Instead, it has turned out to be a weakness because Arizona has the second worst scoring offense in the Big 12 behind only Houston. Prior to their game against West Virginia, the Wildcats were averaging just 23 points per game.
One of their main problems was that the offensive line was struggling to open up running lanes and protect Noah Fifita. Noah was having to do too much, and he was making crucial mistakes. Another issue was finding a second receiver outside of McMillan. Well on Saturday, they didn’t need to because Tetairoa McMillan had over 200 yards receiving for the third time in his career. Plus, Fifita didn’t turn the football over either.
I know that Arizona still has some work to do in the running game, but I felt like they showed me some life offensively against West Virginia. Unfortunately for them, it came in a loss but as crazy as it sounds, this was the most points they have put up since their opening game against New Mexico where they scored 61 points.
Don’t Count Out West Virginia
Despite having an overall record of 4-4, you can’t count out this West Virginia team just yet. The Mountaineers have a bye week next weekend before their final four games of the regular season. Looking at their remaining schedule, it wouldn’t be crazy to say they have a good chance in every single game. The Mountaineers will play Cincinnati, Baylor, UCF, and Texas Tech. By no means are those easy games, but they aren’t exactly impossible games to win.
Half of West Virginia’s losses came in the non-conference which means they are 3-2 in Big 12 play. This team has a lot to play for going into the month of November because they will be in the mix for a Big 12 title and possibly playing for Neal Brown’s job.
