Nicco Marchiol Expected to Start for WVU at Cincinnati, Garrett Greene Available as Emergency

CINCINNATI – WV Sports Now can confirm a Saturday morning report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel that expects Nicco Marchiol to start for West Virginia at Cincinnati toady. After not traveling to Arizona, Garrett Greene is with the team today and would be available as an emergency option.

All signs have been pointing to Marchiol as West Virginia’s starting quarterback again all week. WVU head coach Neal Brown referred to Garrett Greene as “doubtful” for the week during his weekly press conference on Monday.

Marchiol replaced Greene in the middle of the loss to Kansas State and then started last week in Arizona.

Marchiol, who was experiencing a homecoming having played high school football in Arizona, completed 18-of-22 for 198 yards and a couple touchdown passes in West Virginia’s 31-26 win over the Wildcats. He also added 39 yards on the ground.

“He’s so much better player than the last time he started a game. So last time he started a game was Texas Tech, and that was in September, I guess, a year ago. And he’s matured, he’s been patient, and he’s gotten better. And I’ve said that a lot, y’all heard me talk about that in the spring, and you heard me talk about it in fall camp, and then he showed that today.

“And he didn’t play very well in the second half of the Kansas State game, which was a tough setting for him, but I thought he really stepped up today when we needed him, and he played really well,” Brown said during his postgame press conference at Arizona Stadium.

Marchiol also discussed being confident in his abilities, especially after a full week of practice. He did admit to having to catch himself from looking for his parents in the stands and being distracted by his friends and family being at the game.

“Timing is so crucial in our pass game and location. I think we just executed on all fronts at that,” said Marchiol about being so efficient and posting an 81.8 completion percentage.

As for Greene, the senior has 1,352 passing yards, 471 rushing yards to go with 12 total touchdowns and eight interceptions, exactly double his total in 2023. Brown previously snapped and referred to any question about Greene being benched for play, not injury, as a “non starter” when asked leading to the trip to Arizona.

For a related story, Mike Asti listed the key storylines to watch for the game.