Morgantown, WV – Saturday was anything but beautiful for the Mountaineers. After making the short trek to Athens, Ohio, Rich Rodriguez and his program left Peden Stadium with a 17-10 loss to the Ohio Bobcats. Falling to 1-1 on the young season, West Virginia now awaits archrival Pittsburgh in this weekend’s Backyard Brawl in Morgantown.
However, before we move on to the Panthers, we are going to take a look back at Saturday’s debacle in Athens, and evaluate just exactly went wrong for the Mountaineers. Also, we are going to discuss what changes are necessary for West Virginia to salvage an already fading 2025 season.
Without further ado…
- Jahiem White – This one absolutely hurts. The one thing that West Virginia couldn’t afford to have happen to them on Saturday happened. After taking a dirty hit from an Ohio defender, star running back Jahiem White was carted off the field with an apparent knee injry, and later spotted on crutches. While the extent of the injury is still unknown, White missing any amount of time is not ideal for the Mountaineers. Once he left the game on Saturday, the offense sputtered, only mustering three points for the rest of the afternoon. If this turns out to be worst-case scenario, Rodriguez is going to have to find a much better option than Clay Ash at the RB2 spot.
- Offensive line – Woof! That was bad! – The Mountaineer offensive line had a very poor outing on Saturday afternoon in Athens. It seemed as if this unit could not get anything right. Run blocking was bad, pass protection was worse, and the line got no push whatsoever for the entire duration of the game. It is still early, and I am sure this unit needs some time to gel before we can truly judge them. However, all signs point to the offensive line having a very long season if they do not show improvement quickly.
- Quarterback play – Fans were quick to judge the play of starting quarterback Nicco Marchiol on Saturday. While it was not his best performance, it is hard for me to place all of the blame on him. The Arizona native had virtually no pass protection and was running for his life regularly. Factor that in with the loss of White to injury, and you have a recipe for disaster. No, Nicco Marchiol does not need to be benched. He is, by far, the best pure passer on the roster. However, Rodriguez does need to incorporate the more athletic signal-callers in the rotation at some point. The offense will need a spark this season, and I’m not sure that can be done relying solely on Marchiol’s arm.
- Defense – Outside of a few bad possessions to end the first half, the Mountaineer defense did everything they could to help the team win on Saturday. Unfortunately, the offense did not hold up their end of the bargain. It may have been disheartening, but the offense will eventually be capable of providing help to the defense. Zac Alley’s defense will keep West Virginia in games this season.
- Rodriguez – I’m as disappointed as anybody with the result on Saturday. No Power Four school should EVER lose to a team out of the MAC. I understand folks are frustrated, but turning on Rodriguez this quickly is not the answer. We are only two games into Rodriguez’s second stint. There will be growing pains as a result of a complete roster overhaul. It will not be pleasant, but there must be a substantial amount of time given in order for Coach Rodriguez to implant his culture into the program. The Mountaineers were never going to turn this thing around in one season. Saturday’s loss to the Ohio Bobcats is proof of that.
(Photo by WVU Athletics)
