Well, at least it wasn’t a blowout this time. WVU’s football team once again found itself on the wrong side of a double digit loss, this time to BYU. Once again, the team was down by a substantial amount at halftime, and once again the offense was inconsistent at best, and the defense was not forcing punts.
But it isn’t all doom and gloom. There were some bright spots. For one, WVU did manage to score a touchdown in the first half for the first time this year against a Big 12 team.
And while the defense ended up forcing just one punt (after Utah did not have to punt at all), they did force three turnovers. That first half touchdown was set up by a turnover at the Utah 3 yard line. Most importantly, the team played hard for all four quarters.
We also saw an important development at quarterback this week. First, it was announced that Nicco Marchiol would miss the rest of the season. It is also expected that he will transfer after this year is over. I don’t hold any animosity towards him. He has always given gritty performances, and even though it he never seemed to be a good fit for a Rich Rodriguez offense, he decided to gut it out and stay at WVU. He also gave the ountaineers two wins
over Pitt. Good luck to Nicco, wherever he ends up.
Also, Jaylen Henderson, who started against Utah, was ruled out with an injury, so redshirt freshman Khalil Wilkins got the start. He did OK. I can’t say it was great, or even good – but he showed flashes and handled his first start well. There is reason to believe that he can improve and develop into an effective QB in this offense. Scotty Fox also saw some time, and the true freshman also showed some promise. It is entirely possible (maybe even likely) that WVU will rely on just these two at quarterback for the rest of the season. One important note: they have to stay healthy. Wilkins took a lot of hard shots against BYU, and it’s hard to see him absorbing that kind of punishment week after week without getting hurt.
The defense needs to tighten things up, obviously, but they are still playing hard, and forcing turnovers. If the offense can stay on the field a bit longer, that will go a long way towards helping the defense.
Now they have a much needed open week, and then they embark on the second half of the season. The first is a game that might be winnable: at UCF, but more on that next week.
Last year was Jen Greeny’s first as WVU’s volleyball coach. She inherited a tough situation, but her success at Washington State gave good hope for the future. Her first team was just 6-5 in its non-conference record, and was just 2-16 in Big 12 play. This year, however, they opened up with a school record 12-0 non-conference slate. But was that an indication that
they were truly better, or just a product of a weak schedule? It was pretty evident that they had improved, but the early Big 12 schedule has proven it. They did lose their first two matches (to Cincinnati and Kansas State), but were more competitive than they had been last year against those teams. Then #19 BYU came to town. Last year, WVU had seven matches against Top 25 teams, and never won a single game. But on Friday, the Mountaineers managed to pull off the upset in five games. It was the first home win over a ranked opponent in program history.
Congratulations to the volleyball team!
The #8 men’s soccer team welcomed #6 Georgia Southern to Morgantown this past weekend for a big Top 10 showdown. And WVU was more than up to the challenge, scoring a goal in each half and coming away with a big 2-0 win.
The women’s soccer team hosted the Arizona teams over the weekend as well. It wentwell, as they easily dispatched Arizona 3-0, and followed that up with a nice 2-0 win over Arizona State.
