Initial Thoughts: West Virginia's Physicality Wins the Day

West Virginia leaned on its running game to put away the Panthers

West Virginia avenged its season-opening loss a year ago to Pitt with a 17-6 win Saturday night. 

The game was a stark contrast from last season, combining for 69 points but the Mountaineers found a way to win after starting quarterback Garrett Greene went down with a lower leg injury and never returned to the game. 

Nicco's Performance

West Virginia leaned on its running game with redshirt freshman Nicco Marchiol at the helm, spearheaded by sophomore running back CJ Donaldson. However, Marchiol managed the game well and there were three throws that really stuck out to me, two coming on RPOs, completing slants over the middle for first downs and an out pattern to Preston Fox on a second and seven to move the chains early in the firth quarter. I would like to see him keep the ball, although it may have been ill advised since Greene was already out of the game, but the offense should open up for him moving forward if Greene is out for a stretch.

Marchiol fumbled after driving down to the Pitt 14-yard line near the end of the first half, but he shrugged it off and continued to play with confidence. It helped the defense returned the favor with an Aubrey Burks interception, setting the Mountaineers up at the Pitt seven. Marchiol was poised with the pass out in the flat to Kole Taylor for the touchdown. It's an 'easy pass' but sometimes those can me the toughest throws in a big game and he connected. 

Running Game

Donaldson matched the physicality of the Mountaineer offensive line, and between the two and in addition with the tight ends, they beat up on the Pitt defense with numerous Panthers needing help on the field. 

It was a gritty performance by the offensive line and Zach Frazier led the way. Frazier was tossing Panther defensive linemen and linebackers all over the field to the point of Panther frustration. The whole unit deserves a ton of credit for giving the running backs room even when Pitt knew the run was coming. The unit has lived up to the hype they received coming into the season thus far. 

West Virginia Defense

After giving up 67 on the first drive, which all came on the ground, the defense held Panthers to a field goal. Then, WVU held Pitt to just 144 yards of total offense the rest of the game, including 63 yards on the ground. Most importantly, the West Virginia defense kept Pitt out of the endzone. They were the more physical defense on the field. 

The pass rush obviously gave Pitt problems, and the secondary was the recipient of three interceptions. The defensive backs still have a lot to improve on, most notably receivers getting free runs on their routes, but it was a better showing than the previous two games. 

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