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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CLENDENIN, W.Va . (WSAZ) – Gov. Patrick Morrisey visited Clendenin West Virginia Saturday during Summerfest.
10 years ago a devastating flood swept through the community.
The governor announced $450,000 of funding for a Streetscape project during a commemoration for the June 2016 flood. The funding will go toward Clendenin’s main street – improving sidewalks, landscaping, and other pedestrian amenities.
Funding for the project comes from the Transportation Alternatives Program – a federal initiative to fund smaller scale transportation projects.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
It was a phenomenal year for the West Virginia Mountaineers on the diamond, and even with the season having been over for over a week now, the honors continue to roll in.
On Friday, second baseman/catcher Gavin Kelly and left-handed starting pitcher Maxx Yehl were both named First-Team All-Americans by D1Baseball.com. It is the first time in program history that two Mountaineers have been recognized as First-Team All-Americans in the same season.
Gavin Kelly
Kelly was essentially everyone’s pick to have a breakout season for the Mountaineers in 2026, but I’m not sure anyone expected him to do it the way he did. He hit nearly .400 all year and went on a power surge out of nowhere toward the end of the season, becoming one of the top home run hitters in the country over the last month or so of the year.
Kelly was named a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, the MVP of the Morgantown Regional, and is currently participating in the Team USA Collegiate National Team training camp in Cary, North Carolina. For the year, he hit .382 with 19 home runs and 63 RBI, cementing himself as a top draft prospect in 2027.
Maxx Yehl
Maxx Yehl was one of the best stories in all of college baseball that didn’t get talked about nearly enough. He was forced to sit out the 2025 season as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery, and prior to this season, Yehl worked exclusively out of the bullpen. The plan all along was to eventually stretch him out into a starter, and in his first year in the role, he was one of the best in the entire country.
Steve Sabins and Co. did a good job of playing it safe with him early, letting him only go two and four innings in his first two starts before turning him loose. There were a couple of moments where Mountaineer fans had to take a deep breath after he was removed from two starts, one of which was in the Morgantown Regional against Kentucky. He bounced back strong and two days later, pitched a gem against the Wildcats, helping the team advance to the super regionals for the third straight season.
Yehl finished the season with a 9-3 record, an ERA of 2.13, and 112 strikeouts to just 26 walks. He was also the first WVU hurler to win Big 12 Pitcher of the Year since Alek Manoah, who did it in 2019.
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West Virginia
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