Stock Up, Stock Down: A Bunch of Negatives Following the Loss to Ohio

Analyzing which Mountaineers played well vs. Ohio and which are looking for a bounce back in Week 3.

Sep 6, 2025; Athens, Ohio, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Nicco Marchiol (8) runs the ball during the first quarter against the Ohio Bobcats at Peden Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

West Virginia fell on the road this evening to the Ohio Bobcats in a game that saw the offense have all sorts of issues. As always, we have our weekly stock up, stock down story.

Here's how I viewed some of today's performances.

Stock up: Zac Alley

Yes, the Mountaineers gave up some big plays and have a handful of critical mistakes, but those are going to happen; you can't completely eliminate those. But when you take into account how many plays the defense had to defend, they did a good job of not letting things fall out of reach and even came up with three interceptions. His unit was the only reason WVU was in it in the fourth quarter. Don't get me wrong, still a TON to fix, but they did enough to give themselves a chance.

Stock down: QB Nicco Marchiol

Just didn't read some things well today. Made a few good throws, but for the most part, he just looked in a funk for whatever reason. The lack of mobility really showed up today, as every time Ohio had things covered up in the back end, the play was essentially over. He did have a couple of key runs, but he lacked conviction in his decision to do so for the majority of the game.

Stock down: Rushing attack

Losing Jahiem White is a massive hit to this offense. They're already pretty thin on experience and explosiveness in the backfield, so losing the top guy is a direct punch to the gut. Cyncir Bowers or Diore Hubbard needs to get opportunities, or this offense is going to be in big trouble moving forward.

Stock down: Offensive line

For the second straight week, the Mountaineers' o-line failed to control the point of attack. It's expected that they have some struggles out of the gate due to having only played one game together, but they're just not winning enough to be able to help sustain drives. It's becoming very alarming.

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