West Virginia
West Virginia 31-26 Arizona (Oct 26, 2024) Game Recap – ESPN
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 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.
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.
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.
West Virginia: plays at Cincinnati on Nov. 9.
Arizona: plays at UCF next Saturday.
——
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West Virginia has added a commitment from Eastern Michigan wide receiver transfer Oran Singleton.
Singleton is coming off a season where he hauled in 64 catches for 639 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also had 23 rushing yards on 6 carries.
The Florida native started his career at Akron but transferred to Hutchinson C.C.
He has one year of eligibility remaining in his career.
WVSports.com will have more with Singleton in the near future.
Morgantown, WV – West Virginia senior guard Javon Small scored a game-high 19 points while senior center Eduardo Andre put in a Mountaineer career-best 14 points and senior guard Tobi Okani recorded a double double with 13 points and 12 rebounds as the Mountaineers (9-2) extended their winning streak to five with a 67-4 win over the Mercyhurst Lakers (6-9) Sunday afternoon.
Mercyhurst took the early lead, but West Virginia responded with a 7-0 run, ignited with a three from freshman guard Jonathan Powell, and forced Lakers head coach Gary Manchel to take a timeout.
Lakers senior forward Jeff Planutis buried a three out of the break to get back within two. The Mountaineers answered with another 7-0 run with Javon Small opening the run with a midrange jumper and Toby Okani finishing with a backdoor to cut to the rim to cap it off for the 16-7 lead at the 12:27 mark of the first half.
West Virginia struggled to pull away from a Mercyhurst program that jumped up to the Division I level over the summer and did not grab a double-digit lead until 5:50 left in the half after a jumper from senior guard Joseph Yesufu.
Eduardo Andre gave the Mountaineers their largest first half lead of 14, and the final field goal of the half, for his nine first half points with 3:32 remaining until halftime as the Mountaineers took a 35-22 lead into the break.
After West Virginia went up 16 to begin the second half, Mercyhurst dwindled the Mountaineers lead to nine with a 7-0 run, led by Aidan Reichert putting in the final five consecutive points.
West Virginia broke the game open with a 15-0 run midway through the second half with Toby Okani lead the way with six points as the Mountaineers took a 54-32 lead and coasted to a 67-46 victory.
West Virginia
Humanities Council’s traveling exhibition, ‘Born of Rebellion: West Virginia’s Statehood and the Civil War,’ on display in Bluefield
PRESS RELEASE:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Humanities Council’s flagship traveling exhibition, Born of Rebellion: West Virginia Statehood and the Civil War, is now on display at the Paine Gallery at the Bluefield Arts Center from now until February 3. Hours and information are available at www.barcwv.org.
This comprehensive, large-scale experience covers sectional tensions within Virginia preceding the Civil War, the violence and chaos of the war surrounding West Virginia’s formation and the difficult aftermath as the new state struggled to forge its destiny during Reconstruction. Born of Rebellion explores this tumultuous and complex era from a wide range of perspectives, including politicians, common soldiers, women and African Americans. Not simply a story of war and politics, Born of Rebellion conveys the complexities and pitfalls that accompanied West Virginia’s arduous journey to separation from Virginia.
“It has been such a pleasure working with Bluefield Arts and Revitalization Corporation to get Born of Rebellion in Mercer County for the holidays,” said Council Program Officer Kyle Warmack. “The Paine Gallery is a perfect display space for the exhibit, and we hope its time here provokes discussion about this part of West Virginia’s experience during the war and our journey to statehood.”
For more information about Born of Rebellion, visit wvhumanities.org and click “Traveling Exhibits” under the Programs menu. For more about the Paine Gallery, its hours of operation and other visitor information, please contact the Bluefield Arts & Revitalization Corporation at (304) 589-0239.
The West Virginia Humanities Council, an independent nonpartisan nonprofit, is the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Council is supported by the NEH, the State of West Virginia and contributions from the private sector. The purposes of the West Virginia Humanities Council are educational, and its mission is to support a vigorous program in the humanities statewide in West Virginia.
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