Can WVU Finish Strong if Nicco Marchiol is QB1? Phil Steele Gives Promising Take

One of college football's top analysts believes in the Mountaineers' left-handed quarterback.

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West Virginia backup quarterback Nicco Marchiol had a fine performance in his first start of the season, helping the Mountaineers to a 31-26 road win over the Arizona Wildcats last week. The lefty finished the night completing 18-of-22 pass attempts for 198 yards and two scores, connecting on a handful of big-time throws throughout the night.

Head coach Neal Brown was pleased with the redshirt sophomore's outing and has confidence in him moving forward if he is the guy. Starter Garrett Greene is "still struggling" with an upper-body injury and during his press conference on Monday, Brown said that is was too early to tell who would get the start at Cincinnati next week.

If Marchiol moves into the QB1 role for the remainder of the season, how does that impact West Virginia's chances to finish the 2024 campaign strong? I asked that very question to college football guru Phil Steele this morning on the latest episode of In the Gun.

Steele's thoughts on Marchiol/WVU

“I think he’s a talented quarterback. In the games that he’s started, the Texas Tech game last year, and this one, I think he performed decently. And he’s only going to get better every week. So if it’s Nicco the rest of the year, I still think West Virginia has a very successful run the final four games. I like them against Baylor and UCF at home, and I think they got a good shot winning at Texas Tech. The Cincinnati game is going to be a good game as well. I think West Virginia is going to have a strong finish to the season, and the bye couldn’t have come at a better time for this team. They were so banged up heading into Arizona. Hopefully, they get a little healthier during the bye week.”

Fortunately for West Virginia, they should be able to find a lot of success through the air in the final month of the season, as all four of their remaining opponents currently rank in the bottom half of the Big 12 in pass defense. Baylor is 10th (216 ypg), Cincinnati 11th at 240.5, UCF 13th at 247.3, and Texas Tech is dead last, allowing a whopping 308,3 yards per game.

Knowing Neal Brown, he will likely keep the quarterback situation close to the vest all the way up until kickoff next Saturday. There is no sense in helping the opponent out in game planning for which quarterback they are going to see, especially since Greene and Marchiol are two completely different styles of quarterbacks.

West Virginia will return to action next Saturday when they make the quick bus trip over to Cincinnati for a noon kick. The game will be televised on FS1.

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