West Virginia’s first road test of the season is one we all would like to forget. The Mountaineers, coming off of a less-than-exciting 45-3 victory over the Robert Morris Colonials, understood the test that was in front of them in a scrappy Ohio Bobcats team led by Parker Navarro. Coach Rich Rodriguez quickly dismissed the notion that this was a trap game and gave all reason to believe that the team was not looking beyond the date in Athens and to Rodriguez’s first Backyard Brawl since 2007. The meeting with Ohio gave the Mountaineers a chance to clean up several miscues suffered a week prior and to continue to set a strong foundation as they look to put together a strong season.
Obviously, the result in Athens was unexpected by many and disappointing to the fanbase as a whole. While there was some improvement in several key areas, regression in others leads to very valid concerns as the Mountaineers look forward to hosting Pitt this Saturday. After such an uninspiring performance, we all should be expecting the worst for this season as a whole, right? Not me. I saw a lot of good hidden amongst the bad and ugly in last Saturday’s matchup. Here’s why I am not pressing the panic button on the season for 2025’s edition of West Virginia Football – and why you shouldn’t, either.
The Good: Defense & Effort
The obvious positive takeaway from the disappointing result against Ohio is how well the defense played, which was a strong continuation of what we saw in Week 1. West Virginia’s defense was on the field for over 40 minutes in the slugfest, due in large part of the ineffectiveness of the offense. Despite playing just over 2/3 (66%) of the game, West Virginia’s defense rarely crumbled. The Mountaineers maintained its strong run defense from Week 1 and only allowed 3.9 yards per carry on the ground (a week after Ohio had just run for an eye-popping 6.5 yards per carry on the road at Rutgers) – if you take away Parker Navarro’s designed runs and keepers, the run defense improved to 3.0 yards per carry. This was a strong showing after allowing only 1.4 yards per carry against Robert Morris a week prior.
While the overall 3.9 number is not the best you’ll see (only 64th, or slight above mid-pack, in Week 2), what is impressive about it is that this number did not explode as the Mountaineer defense continued to be put out on the field by its offense. In fact, in the three-interception stretch by our defense, only 4 run plays by the Bobcats went longer than 8 yards – 3 of which were scrambles by Navarro (runs of 8, 9, and 19). When Ohio went under center or ran designed runs to their running backs, West Virginia shut it down. This is a trend we have seen over two games and 120 minutes of football.
Just like against the Colonials the week before, West Virginia also took the football away, which will continue to remain crucial if the offense struggles. The Mountaineers forced three more interceptions in the second half to follow up the 2 fumbles collected in Week 1. Given that Defensive Coordinator Zac Alley demands that turnovers be generated by his defense, it’s safe to assume they are meeting his expectations in the turnover department.
The defense continued its elite ability to keep the opponent out of the end zone, only allowing 2 touchdowns through 2 games and 0 combined points in the second half over 2 games. It is nothing short of sensational that the Mountaineers were able to keep from breaking (minus one busted coverage late in the first half) and even more impressive that no points were allowed in a second half that saw the Mountaineer defense on the field for over 18 minutes in the 30-minute second half. If the offense can figure out how to move and score with the pace they want, the Mountaineer defense can certainly continue its fantastic play as it moves into G4 competition.
Zac Alley also has something special when he sends pressure as well. Mixing in Fred Perry, Chase Wilson (2 sacks Saturday), Reid Carrico (when healthy) and Braden Siders has given offensive lines fits through two games. Sending the pressure in proper situations helped negate Parker Navarro’s athleticism and shiftiness with the ball in his hands. When blitz comes, this defense creates magic.
Finally, doing my best to avoid the cliche, the Mountaineers continued to play with a Hard Edge despite things going poorly. Not once did I feel that any member of the team quit trying or took a play off, which would have been very easy to do in such difficult circumstances. This could be seen in all three phases: even when the offense could not get going, you didn’t see any drop off in effort from players such as Cam Vaughn, Rodney Gallagher, and Jaheim White/Jaden Bray (prior to each player’s devastating season-ending injury). You can teach a lot, but you can’t teach effort and want-to. Rich Rod continues to build a solid programatic foundation (that we have not seen in years) by requiring effort from every player on every snap.
The Bad: QB Play
Just like the Good from the Ohio matchup is obvious, the Bad is likely just as obvious. West Virginia will need to find better quarterback play, and find it fast, if they want the season to avoid running off the rails in a hurry.
QB Nicco Marchiol struggled overall. While the offensive line (to be discussed later) did not pass any remote semblance of an eye test, Marchiol did have ample time to throw the football and just simply could not produce results. Marchiol missed several throws, seemed slow in progressing through reads, and took several hits against coverage that were unnecessary. WVU’s inability to convert on third down (2-13 on the afternoon) is a direct result of Marchiol’s struggles, though the run blocking (again, to be discussed later) did not help in leaving Marchiol in a large number of third-and-long situations. Marchiol looked indecisive and as if he could not choose between a run or pass on several occasions – indecisiveness, coupled with a clear speed disadvantage, will not likely lead to success at a P4 level. It didn’t against a good G5 team.
Unfortunately, switching to Jaylen Henderson mid-game was not any better. Henderson only ran the ball two times for 8 yards (he did have a 9-yard run negated by a penalty) and missed his only two pass attempts badly, including missing a wide-open Cam Vaughn for what likely would have been a touchdown. Henderson was also sacked once for 4 yards.
I doubt we have seen the best QB play we will see from the Mountaineers this season through 2 games, but a legitimate question of who should be taking the snaps remains. While Marchiol is a more competent passer, if the pocket collapses or he tries to extend plays, he just doesn’t have the speed to make anything happen. Henderson has the electricity to make something happen with his feet, but we’ve yet to see him complete a pass in 2 games. Can the Mountaineers turn to other options such as Scottie Fox Jr. or Max Brown? Fans will soon enough be clamoring for it, but it looks like this offense will not work unless Rich Rod puts the ball in the hands of someone who can move with it quickly and decisively.
The Ugly: The Offensive Line
This likely doesn’t need much explaining as many of us saw the same thing, but the offensive line was brutal for the second straight game against what (many would consider) an inferior defensive front. The Mountaineers, running an offense constructed by one whom many consider a “father” of the Spread, only mustered 2.6 yards per carry and only 72 total yards on the ground. 32 of those yards came from Jaheim White on one play – and he only had 8 yards on his other 5 carries overall prior to his injury. The Mountaineer offensive line looked inferior at many times on Saturday after what many would call a poor showing against Robert Morris and did little to quell concerns that the fan base had coming into the game.
What makes this “ugly” is that there is not an easy fix for an underperforming offensive line. Offensive line is the position group that you can “plug and play” the least. While we saw a lot of tinkering before the season began, this group is likely gelled together the best out of any combination of 5 starters we may see, and pulling one or two starters could make the situation worse. It is really hard to fix a bad offensive line early-or-mid season. I don’t have an answer on how Rich can do it. What we should likely see is less between-the-tackles running now that Jaheim White is out for the season and spread the ball out wide like we’ve seen with Rodney Gallagher and Oran Singleton early in the year. If Cyncir Bowers is able to pass block, we absolutely should see him as well. His speed will be crucial in hitting the edge on run plays.
Why Am I Not Worried?
So… Things should be bad, right? Shouldn’t I be selling my tickets to the Backyard Brawl and remaining home games, making other plans for my Saturdays, and getting ready for next year? Absolutely not.
We’ve seen a defense play exceptionally well – much more than they ever should have been asked this point in the season – and we have suffered a bad loss. If we know anything about Rich Rod, we know he will get into these players, work them hard in practice, and learn from what went wrong in Athens. With a defense that flies to the football, creates turnovers, gets to the QB when it sends pressure, and plays hard, it can continue to help alleviate some issues you are seeing on the offensive side of the football.
Is this sustainable if your offense continues to go three-and-out on several drives (and 2/13 on third down overall) with less than 3 yards per carry? Absolutely not. However, again, look who is coaching this offense and calling our plays. This coach has created legends at Quarterback – Rasheed Marshall, Pat White, Denard Robinson – and while I’m not saying a legend like this exists on the current roster, there’s no reason not to believe that he can find the right grouping of personnel to match his scheme.
I’m not worried because we have an outstanding defense and a head coach that knows how to run an offense and win football games. You shouldn’t be, either.
It’s time to Spot the Ball. Let’s Go.
Money Gun's Musings 