Taylor White powers WVU women’s soccer past Arizona, Nicco Marchiol is set to redshirt and hit the portal, and Deuce McBride shines in the Knicks’ exhibition opener. Good morning — this is the Shotgun/Throwdown, your daily WVU sports roundup.
Welcome to The Shotgun/Throwdown, your daily West Virginia sports roundup (that we didn’t already talk about in another article) with some sophomoric humor and daily distractions thrown in for good measure. And if there’s something we missed, be sure to talk about it in the comments.
WHITE OUT
Taylor White had a hand in every goal last night as West Virginia shut out Arizona, 3–0, in the Big 12 home opener. She set up Maddie Levy’s finish in the 21st minute, then scored twice in the second half — once off a long ball from Jacey Rase in the 53rd, then again eight minutes later on a header assist from Ajanae Respass.
That’s the second time in the last three games White has been involved in every Mountaineer goal. She’s now up to six goals, seven assists, and 19 points on the season. Levy picked up her fourth tally and second game-winner, while Rase logged her first point of the year.
The back line and Bailey Herfurth locked it down again, limiting the Wildcats to four total shots. Herfurth stopped both that reached her, notching her seventh clean sheet. She’s now 6-0-2 with 18 saves and has allowed just three goals all season.
It’s eight straight unbeaten for WVU (7-2-2, 2-0-2 Big 12), who have outscored opponents 21–6 on the year. Next up is Arizona State on Sunday in Morgantown. Kickoff is set for Noon on ESPN+.
MOUNTAINEER ROUNDUP
- It’ll be a third straight new starter at QB when the Mountaineers visit No. 23 BYU tonight. Khalil Wilkins is expected to make his first start in Provo (10:30 p.m., ESPN). West Virginia (2–3, 0–2 Big 12) has scored just three first-half points in league play and face an unbeaten BYU team averaging 251 rushing yards a game.
- A day late on this, but QB Nicco Marchiol is expected to medically redshirt and then enter the transfer portal, per Pete Nakos. Marchiol started WVU’s first four games this season, throwing for 720 yards and three total TDs. Across four years in Morgantown, he totaled 1,462 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and 341 rushing yards. He’ll leave with two years of eligibility.
- The computers and experts aren’t giving WVU much of a shot at BYU tonight. ESPN’s FPI has the Mountaineers at 5.1%, SP+ at 8%, and PFF Greenline at 11.1%. Bleacher Report has BYU winning 37–14, while Athlon and USA Today experts all went with the Cougars.
- If you’ve ever wanted to work the PA at WVU sporting events, here’s your shot. WVU is holding PA announcer auditions on October 9 from 5–6:30 p.m. Roles include calling Mountaineer women’s basketball and other varsity sports, with tryouts featuring a sample script and short interview. Interested? Applications run through wvusports.com/paauditions.
- WVU golf heads to the Cullan Brown Collegiate in Lexington on Monday after an impressive opening stretch. The Mountaineers have won two of their first three tournaments this fall — including defending their Nemacolin Collegiate title — and finished third at the Gopher Invitational. Through three events, WVU is 41–2 in head-to-heads as it looks to build toward another NCAA run.
- WVU volleyball hosts No. 19 BYU tonight at the Coliseum. First serve is at 6 p.m. on ESPN+, and it’s the Coal Rush match — fans are asked to wear black. The Mountaineers (12–2, 0–2 Big 12) are looking to bounce back after a five-set loss to Kansas State, while BYU (14–1, 2–1) comes in ranked No. 19 nationally and unbeaten in the series.
- WVU tennis opens the Martha Thorn Invitational this morning at 11 a.m. at the Mountaineer Tennis Courts. The Mountaineers are coming off a singles title from Julie Bousseau at last weekend’s Thunder in the Mountains in Charleston. Singles follow at 1:30 this afternoon.
MOUNTAINEER PROS
- Deuce McBride got off to a strong start in New York’s exhibition opener, dropping 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting against the 76ers, adding five rebounds, two assists, and a game-high three steals in 21 minutes.
- Jesse Edwards held his own in Melbourne United’s matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans. Edwards logged 25 minutes in the historic NBAxNBL exhibition, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, seven rebounds, and two assists. It was the first time an NBA team had ever played on Australian soil, and Edwards played a steady role inside as United battled but fell 107–97.
- Zach Frazier had a couple of low snaps with Aaron Rodgers against the Vikings, and it’s something the Steelers want fixed fast. O-line coach Pat Meyer said the snap has to be “non-negotiable” but also made it clear he trusts Frazier to get it right moving forward.
AROUND THE LEAGUE (AND BEYOND)
- The Air Force–Navy game in Annapolis goes on as planned Saturday despite the government shutdown. Both schools’ athletic departments are nonprofit-supported, but some civilian staff have been affected — including Air Force’s football media contact. Air Force won’t stream home events or post regular updates, though all competitions will be played as scheduled.
- The Big Ten is reportedly closing in on a private equity deal worth at least $2 billion. The plan would form a new commercial arm called Big Ten Enterprises and extend the league’s grant of rights to 2046. None of this is surprising — private equity has its hand in everything now, and some of the conference realignment “insiders” on WVU Twitter have been saying for months the Big 12 is flirting with the same idea.
- No. 14 Iowa State will be without starters Jontez Williams and Jeremiah Cooper for the rest of the season. Both defensive backs tore ACLs last week, with Williams going down late against Arizona and Cooper injured in practice. The pair had combined for 55 career starts in the Cyclones’ secondary.
Leave a Reply