WVU Football
West Virginia Overcomes Rough First Half to Cruise Past Robert Morris
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Saturday, August 30, 2025 officially marked the dawning of a new era for the West Virginia Mountaineers. With Rich Rodriguez back at the helm and the sun shining down on Milan Puskar Stadium, WVU fans were able to cheer, at least for the most part, and enjoy a 1-0 start to the season.
West Virginia defeated Robert Morris 45-3 in a game that was too close for comfort for the Mountaineers for far too long.
After a Brandon Siders deflection led to a Robert Morris punt, West Virginia jumped out to an early lead. Nicco Marchiol capped off the drive, showing a glimpse of the potential of Rodriguez’s offense.
Marchiol ran in a quarterback keeper for a 10-yard touchdown on a drive that was initially ignited by a 21-yard burst from Jahiem White.
Then, the West Virginia’s momentum calmed down a bit. Robert Morris missed what could’ve been a giant turning point, as WVU running back Justin Smith-Brown was able to recover his own fumble.
This allowed the game to say 7-0 at the conclusion of the first quarter. It would then stay at that same score throughout most of the rest of the half as well.
With only a short 27-yard field goal by Kaden Hensley as far as second quarter scoring, West Virginia was on the verge of cracking the game wide open with about 10 minutes left until half time. A fumble recovery set the Mountaineers up in Robert Morris territory.
But the momentum was short lived when Cam Vaughn put the ball on the ground, only to have the ball roll all the way to the end zone. The Colonials would lay on the ball and take over with a touchback.
Robert Morris settled for a field goal, but got on the scoreboard nonetheless.
On the next possession with the score 10-3, the Colonials recover their THIRD FUMBLE to that point, and another one by a receiver in Grayson Barnes that followed a successful gain.
To set a new tone in the second half, the Mountaineers used solid field position – starting the drive from their own 36 – to find the end zone for just the second time all day. White punched in his first touchdown of the season, increasing WVU’s lead to 17-3.
A second one-yard touchdown for White moved the game out of reach, granted that score preceded the Mountaineers top highlight of the day. Vaughn caught a 46-yard bomb from Marchiol, allowing the Mountaineer Mascot to fire off his musket and the crowd to explode more than any other moment throughout the day.
But it was true freshman Scotty Fox who provided WVU’s longest play from scrimmage, sprinting down the sideline for 59 yards. WVU would secure the 45-3 win and move to 1-0 on the season.
Marchiol finished the game completing 17-of-20 passes for 224 yards with three total touchdowns, two on the ground and one through the air. White ran for 93 yards on 18 carries, finding the end zone twice. Vaughn made seven receptions for 127 yards.
West Virginia (1-0) will now head to Athens, Ohio to take on the Bobcats (0-1) in Week 2.
