West Virginia and Arizona enter Saturday’s game at Tucson, Ariz., with significant injury concerns and disgruntled fan bases over their performances this season.
It will be the first meeting between the football programs. Both are now in the expanded Big 12.
West Virginia (3-4, 2-2) was uncertain early this week about the status of starting quarterback Garrett Greene, who did not play because of an upper-body injury in the second half of last week’s 45-18 home loss to then-No. 17 Kansas State.
If Greene can’t play, Chandler, Ariz., native Nicco Marchiol will take over.
“(Marchiol) is going to get a bunch of reps, so if his number’s called, he’ll be ready, and I expect him to play at a high level,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said.
Arizona (3-4, 1-3) will be without linebacker Jacob Manu, one of the team’s captains, and offensive tackle Rhino Tapa’atoutai for the rest of the season.
Manu suffered a non-contact knee injury and Tapa’atoutai a leg injury in a 34-7 home loss to Colorado last week.
This follows the news the previous week that starting safeties Gunner Maldonado and Treydan Stukes likely were lost for the season with knee injuries.
“It’s unfortunate how those things happen, but this is a situation where you always say, ‘Next guy up,'” Arizona first-year coach Brent Brennan said. “Somebody has to pick up the flag, and somebody has to get ready to go.”
Brennan fielded questions during his weekly press conference about potential mid-season coaching changes following criticism of fans on social media regarding Arizona’s offensive production despite having quarterback Noah Fifita and All-America receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
“If I dropped a pass on third down 30 years ago, it was in the paper. No one read it, not college kids,” Brennan said. “But now on social media if he drops a pass, he might get 10,000 people telling him that he’s trash.”
Meanwhile, a group of West Virginia fans labeling itself the “Wolfpack” has started a website requesting the firing of Brown. West Virginia has never cracked the AP Top 25 under Brown, who is 34-33 in six seasons with the Mountaineers.
–Field Level Media
