Initial Thoughts on West Virginia's Tight Win Over Arizona

Rapid reactions to West Virginia's win over Arizona.

Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

West Virginia hung on to defeat the Arizona Wildcats 31-26 to improve to 4-4 on the season and 3-2 in Big 12 play.

Here are a few thoughts/takeaways I had from tonight's game.

Impressive outing from Marchiol

His best football is still to come, but this was a nice step in the right direction for the redshirt sophomore quarterback and a nice bounceback after a poor second half against Kansas State. Unlike previous appearances, Neal Brown let Marchiol throw the ball downfield a little bit more and he did so with success.

Very accurate and knew how much touch/zip to put on the ball. I understand they probably didn't want to put too much on his plate for his first start, but I'd like to see what he could do with more opportunities throwing over the middle or downfield. A lot of east-to-west, easy underneath completions tonight which was the right thing to do.

But that 54-yard dart to Traylon Ray? A thing of beauty.

Jordan Lesley...I need some answers

The moment West Virginia failed to do anything on its drive midway through the fourth quarter, you knew the Mountaineers were in trouble. WVU’s secondary continues to have busted coverages, miscommunications, and just flat-out getting beat. 

Why in the world is Trey Lathan responsible for Tetairoa McMillan with no help whatsoever over the top? Jordan Lesley has to own that. Lathan has struggled in pass coverage early in his career and putting him in that position is just asking for trouble.

Washing out the stink of the previous two weeks

The loss to Iowa State, Neal Brown's comments, and then a really bad outing against Kansas State have created a lot of negativity around the program, and understandably so. This was an opportunity to snap out of it and feel a little better heading into a much-needed bye week. The fourth quarter wasn't pretty, but a win is a win.

Losing this game would have been detrimental to the team's confidence and possibly buy-in for the final month of the season. You've at least given yourself a chance to hang around and compete for a top spot in the Big 12. I know, I know...one week at a time.

Neal Brown still has a TON to prove

One of the main reasons I picked West Virginia to win this week is because I didn't think Brown would get out-coached by Brent Brennan. I'm not sure how long he, Brennan, is going to last out there, especially since he was a late hire and didn't really do all that much at his previous stop, San Jose State.

I'll keep saying it: you can't just beat the teams you're supposed to beat. To be a true contender in a Power Four league, you have to beat some of the top dogs. Winning on the road with your backup quarterback and backup left tackle is impressive, but Arizona was banged up at key spots entering this game, too.

For Brown to regain former climb trusters, he needs this team to show up against good football teams. Again, I'm not taking anything away from tonight, but this doesn't wash away the 3-17 record vs. top 25 teams. It just gets the bad taste from the last two weeks out of the mouth, as mentioned above.

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