Sunday Morning Thoughts: QB Controversy at WVU? Very Unlikely

Final analysis of West Virginia's win over Arizona.

Oct 26, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Nicco Marchiol (8) looks to throw the ball during the third quarter against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images / Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

It was a simplified approach for the most part for quarterback Nicco Marchiol with a couple of deep balls mixed in, and he executed it to a T. Marchiol finished the night completing 18-of-22 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns in West Virginia's 31-26 win over Arizona on Saturday night in the desert.

I haven't agreed with Neal Brown on many things recently, but he is correct that everyone is enamored with the backup quarterback in college football. The backup, in a weird way, provides hope for a better product, especially when things are going bad. When the backup hasn't played much and was considered a highly-rated recruit coming out of high school, he becomes often viewed as the easy fix to the situation. That's not always the case.

But it might be here.

No, Marchiol doesn't have the experience that Garrett Greene has, and no, he's not the same athlete he is. But he throws the ball more accurately and makes better decisions with the football, which are the most important things on which the quarterback is evaluated.

So, is there a chance Brown turns it over to the redshirt sophomore? No.

Neal Brown is committed to Garrett Greene and will remain so for the remainder of the season, given that he is healthy. Fans can pound the table all they want for Marchiol to be handed the keys to the offense, but Brown has made it very clear in recent weeks that Greene is the quarterback of this team.

Why do I still believe that?

Well, for one, Greene has been the guy since the start of last year and is a senior. Once Brown has settled on a quarterback, he tends to give said player a pretty long leash.

Secondly, and this is just my opinion here, he's not about to make a quarterback change to an inexperienced Marchiol when his job is seemingly in question. Greene helped save his job a year ago, so why turn away from him now?

Sure, a switch could be made, and a strong finish by the Mountaineers under Marchiol would provide hope for 2025, but rolling the dice is not something he's going to be willing to do, even if it's the right call.

The final four games of the season are not as strenuous as what they just went through in the first seven Power Four games. Cincinnati and Texas Tech have the same conference record as WVU at 3-2 but are winnable road games. Baylor and UCF are a combined 3-7 in the Big 12, and you get them at home.

I'm not saying it will or should happen, but winning out and finishing with an identical record as last year is certainly in the cards. Greene will be the guy for those four games if he's healthy.

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Mountaineers Grab a West Coast Win Over the Wildcats

Initial Thoughts on WVU's Tight Win Over Arizona