The Mountaineers suffered their first loss of the season to Ohio on the road as they move to 1-1. They lost the time-of-possession battle badly. They only controlled the ball for just under 17 minutes, while Ohio had control for over 40 minutes. That is not a recipe for success. WVU looks ahead to the Backyard Brawl against Pittsburgh, WVU’s second home game of the season, this week. Read more: Major Takeaways From WVU’s Loss to Ohio.
Major Takeaways From WVU’s Loss to Ohio
Rich Rodriguez took the lead in accepting blame for the Mountaineers’ disappointing performance against the Bobcats. His team put an awful product on the field, and it starts with the game plan and executing it.
“Very disappointed,” Rodriguez said after the game. “But it starts with me. I told the guys that I failed them this week. I thought we had a good week of practice. I thought we were ready to play, and we weren’t. We didn’t execute.”
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He added that they were not looking ahead to the Pittsburgh game this week, and he thought they had a good week of practice.
“I take responsibility for a lack of execution,” Rodriguez added. “I thought we had two really good practices on Tuesday and Wednesday, but that didn’t show up today, for sure.”
Who Is the Solution at Quarterback?
There is a quarterback battle brewing in Morgantown. Nicco Marchiol did not perform on the road. He completed 15 of 26 passes for 178 yards with an interception. The offense looked lost after Jahiem White left the game with a knee injury. Marchiol was indecisive and slow through his progressions. He did not find the open receivers, and most of his completions came within five yards of the line of scrimmage.
Marchiol also looked slow as a runner. He ran 11 times for nine yards and got sacked three times. Part of the blame can be attributed to the poor performance of the offensive line, but it remains a concern as they face more formidable opponents in the Big 12.
Jaylen Henderson took over under center in the third quarter and could be the answer for the lack of production in the rushing attack. He did not complete a pass on two attempts during his two drives, but ran the ball three times for four yards. He had a nine-yard rush nullified by a penalty, but looked much faster and showed play-making ability with his legs.
Marchiol returned in the fourth quarter, but it was not better. The team had no rushing ability, and Henderson gave them the best opportunity to get something going on the ground. He has yet to complete a pass on four attempts this season, but it cannot hurt to give him a chance.
Penalties Are a Major Problem
The Mountaineers were plagued by penalties again this week. They had eight penalties for 85 yards against Ohio. They halted drives and slowed any momentum the offense had garnered. Mistakes like this are a significant part of the problem, especially in a close game like this.
WVU won the turnover battle, 3-1, but did nothing with them. WVU’s defense played well and forced three interceptions for Ohio’s quarterback, Parker Navarro. They gave up 17 points in the first half, but held the Bobcats scoreless in the second half, where they forced all three interceptions. The defense committed several penalties, which allowed Ohio to score more points than they should have, but the offense gave them nothing in return. The defense did plenty to win this game, especially considering they were on the field for over 40 minutes.
The Offensive Line Problems and Jahiem White Injury
The offensive line is having some growing pains. They did little run-blocking and were a major contributor to the lack of offense for WVU. WVU managed 72 rushing yards on the day, with 178 passing yards. They managed only 13 first downs and converted two of 13 on third downs. The offense was behind the chains all game, and it comes back to the lack of ground game.
There were no holes, and it showcased Jahiem White’s talent. He had six carries for 40 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game in the second quarter. He still finished as the team’s top rusher with 22 yards to spare. Nothing seemed to work after he was off the field, and it showed the holes in the offensive line.
White got hurt on a run that drew penalties for personal fouls on Ohio. He got dragged down by a horse-collar, facemask tackle, and stayed down before being carted off the field. He returned to the sidelines on crutches, and it does not seem good.
His status remains undetermined until further evaluation, and Rodriguez said, “It didn’t look good,” which is indicative of the severity of the injury. His loss would be devastating to WVU, as he was the most talented player on the offensive side of the ball.
