PFF Says Nicco Marchiol Outperformed Almost Every Power Four Quarterback in Week 1

There were a bunch of questions surrounding the quarterback room heading into West Virginia's season opener against Robert Morris last weekend, and while things could still change, we at least got a clearer picture as to the plan for that room.

Redshirt junior Nicco Marchiol was named the starter and didn't do anything to lose that status heading into a much stiffer challenge in Week 2 against Ohio. He took what the defense gave him, completing 17-of-20 pass attempts for 224 yards and a touchdown, while also using his legs to rack up 56 yards and a score on 13 carries.

According to Pro Football Focus, he graded out as the fourth-best quarterback in Power Four football, trailing only Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (Cal), Taylen Green (Arkansas), and Darian Mensah (Duke).

Highest Graded Quarterbacks from Week 1🎯 pic.twitter.com/oqt7zHMSBd
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 2, 2025

"Nicco’s got some game experience. He’s relaxed out there seeing the field," Rodriguez said earlier this week. "There’s always one or two things that we want to take back, but he was in control of running the system and did a nice job. Made a couple key first down runs."

“Nicco’s an accurate thrower. Some of his throws in the last game were off run plays, RPOs, and he could have made more of them," he continued. "In the second half, we shut a lot of those down and handed the ball off. But he’s really comfortable in the RPO world. He’s comfortable in the route packages that we have, and he’s a very accurate guy. He’s got a strong enough arm; you saw it on the deep ball. Made a beautiful throw on the deep ball. But his strength is that he’s an accurate thrower.”

Although it was a pretty basic game plan offensively, he still operated the offense efficiently and took care of the football. This week, you can expect Rich Rod to open up the playbook a little more against Ohio, sprinkling in some more downfield targets to Cam Vaughn, Jaden Bray, and perhaps even tight end Grayson Barnes.

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