MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The first 11 quarters of West Virginia’s 2025 football season generated more questions than answers pertaining to the most important position in the sport.
Redshirt junior Nicco Marchiol then put forth the best stretch of his career when it mattered most after he’d been benched throughout the third quarter and for the opening series of the fourth.
Marchiol led the Mountaineers on an 87-yard drive that was capped by his 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Grayson Barnes with 11 seconds remaining to tie Pitt, and Tye Edwards found the end zone for a third time on a 1-yard run in overtime to send West Virginia past the Panthers, 31-24, in a more than 4-hour marathon at Milan Puskar Stadium.
“I didn’t check his demeanor,” WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez said of Marchiol. ”I’m not into Dr. Phil and people’s feelings. Sometimes you want to try and get a spark, sometimes there are certain plays you want to run. At the end, we knew we needed to throw and Nicco is our best thrower. He was really sharp in the last 4 minutes. That’s why I’m really proud of him. Instead of hanging his head, he showed that he’s a competitor and pulled us out a victory.”
Marchiol played the entirety of the first half, but was spelled by true freshman Scotty Fox for all four third-quarter possessions, before Jaylen Henderson took over behind center to start the fourth.
When the left-handed Marchiol got his first chance of the second half, it came directly after the Panthers (2-1) had finished off a stretch of 21 unanswered points to lead 24-14 on Eli Holstein’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Raphael Williams with 9:28 remaining.
“Coach had talked earlier in the week about multiple guys playing this week,” Marchiol said. “It’s something that’s not been a part of me being a college quarterback up until now. They got their time in and when my number got called again, it was let’s go win the game someway, somehow. The minute you start getting distracted and feeling bad for yourself, that’s when you have no chance.”
The Mountaineers then drove 72 yards and got inside the Pitt 5, before being forced to settle for Kade Hensley’s 21-yard field goal that brought the home team to within seven with 5:03 remaining.
On Pitt’s ensuing possession, the Panthers got into WVU territory before electing to punt. Before intentionally taking a delay of game from the WVU 37, Pitt was faced with fourth-and-4.
The Mountaineers got a 34-yard pass from Marchiol to Barnes to convert third-and-9, and that duo connected again in a short-yardage situation for the tying TD. Marchiol completed 5-of-8 passes for 64 yards on his team’s final series of regulation.
“I could see it from the look in my guys’ eyes that when we needed the last 2-minute drive, we were not going to be denied,” Marchiol said.
In overtime, Edwards rushed for 3 yards on fourth-and-1, and the Northern Iowa transfer scored two plays later on a 1-yard run. It marked the third rushing score for Edwards, who did not log a carry either of the first two weeks and only became eligible in August.
“A full game of football tonight. Being up, down and coming out with a win, it’s always good and a lot of joy in the locker room,” Edwards said.
With Pitt in need of a touchdown to prolong the game, Holstein was sacked by Edward Vesterinen on third-and-11, and the quarterback’s fourth-and-20 pass was inaccurate and fell incomplete, sealing the outcome.
“We had a really good game plan for Pitt,” said WVU safety Darrian Lewis, who recorded an interception in a second straight game. [Defensive coordinator Zac Alley] had some speed on the defensive line instead of some big guys. Really changing up the picture. Pitt’s offense is really good, but it’s hard to see what they’re getting versus this defense.”
Marchiol started and played the entirety of the first half, while the Mountaineers scored the game’s first points on Edwards’ 12-yard run 11:51 before halftime.
While both teams missed field goals in the opening quarter, the Panthers squandered another prime scoring chance in the second when Darrian Lewis intercepted Holstein in the end zone.
The Panthers scored their first points on Trey Butkowski’s 23-yard field goal 1:42 before halftime to cut their deficit to four.
The first half ended in a usual fashion with WVU in possession and out of timeouts. On the final play of the second quarter, Marchiol ran 12 yards to the Pitt 42, while a penalty was called on Pitt for unnecessary roughness at the end of the play.
However, because the penalty occurred with 1 second remaining and the Mountaineers were unable to stop the clock, time expired and the half concluded with the Mountaineers unable to attempt what would’ve been a 45-yard field goal.
Rodriguez was irate and sounded unsure of the rule.
“I can’t give you my total opinion because I might get fined,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve coached a long time and never seen a penalty not have a consequence. There’s a personal and we think we can try a field goal. No, instead, there’s a penalty and we do nothing about it. I haven’t seen it. We’ll find out what it is.”
Fox got his first action of the day to start the second half, but WVU went three-and-out.
However, after forcing Pitt to punt it back, the Mountaineers moved 80 yards in seven plays, getting a 56-yard pass from Fox to Justin Smith-Brown to setup Edwards’ 1-yard rushing TD for a 14-3 lead at the 8:27 mark of the third.
From that point on, until Marchiol returned, it was all Panthers.
Holstein’s 67-yard pass to Williams led to Pitt’s first touchdown, which saw the quarterback score on a 1-yard run. He then connected with Cataurus Hicks on a two-point pass that was called incomplete and overturned on review, leaving the Panthers with a three-point deficit.
Fox was intercepted by Kyle Louis moments later, and though Pitt began the series after at the WVU 14, the Panthers settled for a 46-yard Butkowski field goal after a sack created an intentional grounding on third down.
“Our defense played their tail off all game and kept us in the game,” Rodriguez said.
Fox was intercepted again on the third play of WVU’s ensuing series, this time by Braylan Lovelace.
While Pitt began that possession at the Mountaineers’ 24, it again settled for a 36-yard field goal from Butkowski in large part due to penalties. The Panthers finished with 14 penalties for 118 yards.
Henderson got WVU across midfield on his only possession, but it ended with him being sacked by Sean Fitzsimmons on fourth-and-3.
Pitt then marched 47 yards in 2:03 for its second touchdown of the game on Holstein’s pass to Williams.
That set the stage for the thrilling finish, one that went totally opposite of last year’s meeting when the Panthers scored two touchdowns in the final 3:06 to win, 38-34.
“We hung in there and never quit,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve always felt the longer the game goes, it’s more to our advantage because of the way our guys work whether it’s overtime it’s not.”
WVU finished with a 434-349 edge in total yards.
Marchiol was 19-for-25 with 192 yards. Edwards rushed for 141 yards on 25 carries, which combined with WVU’s six sacks, helped allow the Mountaineers to dominate rushing yards, 174-46.
“We ran the ball better than they did, which is always a key to the physical part of the game,” Rodriguez said. “They’re an athletic and active team, but we were able to run it at key spots and that was the difference at the end of the game.”
Rodney Gallagher caught seven passes for 61 yards in the win and Barnes had five receptions for 58 yards.
Holstein completed 22-of-37 passes for 303 yards. Williams was his favorite target and was in on six catches for 119 yards.
Saturday’s matchup marked the 108th version of the Backyard Brawl, the second instance of it going to overtime and WVU’s first victory in an extra session in the storied history of a spirited rivalry.
“This state is full of hard-working, gritty, tough people that support this university and football program,” Rodriguez said. “Winning is important to them. Beating Pitt is really important to them. You ask any West Virginia fan in our state to pick a team you want to beat or pick a team you hate, and they’ll say Pitt.”