THE SHOTGUN THROWDOWN: Jared Bartlett named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week

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BREAKOUT GAME FOR BARTLETT

West Virginia sophomore linebacker Jared Bartlett had a breakout game in the Battle for the Black Diamond Trophy, and it earned him the honor of being the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week. In WVU’s 27-21 win over #15 Virginia Tech, the bandit linebacker had a season-high five tackles, a career high three sacks, and a forced a fumble. Saturday’s performance was a significant increase in Bartlett’s contributions for the Mountaineer defense, as he only had two tackles in WVU’s first two games this season.

Bartlett’s impact in the win over the Hokies was very apparent. It seemed like he was in the VT backfield pressuring quarterback Braxton Burmeister on almost every play that he was on the field for at bandit. Bartlett had 50% of WVU’s sacks in the game and 30% of the teams tackles for loss. The Mountaineers will need him to continue making plays for the defense, especially this week when they face #4 Oklahoma and its Heisman-hopeful quarterback Spencer Rattler.

WEST VIRGINIA COMMIT LEADS EPIC COMEBACK

Last Friday, many Mountaineer fans went to bed early in preparation for tailgating in the morning before West Virginia’s game against #15 Virginia Tech, but some fans stayed up late to watch WVU commit Nicco Marchiol play on ESPNU. The nationally televised game matched Marchiol’s Hamilton Huskies, from Chandler, Arizona, up against high school football powerhouse Bishop Gorman, from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Marchiol led his team right down the field in the first quarter for the Huskies’ first touchdown of the game. After that, the four-star quarterback’s offense was unable to score during a majority of the game and they found themselves down 24-7 with just over a minute left in the game. With 1:05 left, Hamilton made a 46-yard field goal and followed it up with an onside kick recovery. Marchiol and his offense then marched down the field to score a touchdown and cut the deficit to 24-17 with less than 30 seconds left. The Huskies then recovered a second onside kick and Marchiol heroically led the team to another touchdown with eight seconds left. He then capped off the incredible comeback win by scrambling into the endzone for a successful two-point conversion.

MOUNTAIN STATE DERBY

The #4 West Virginia men’s soccer team traveled to Huntington the past Friday to face the defending national champions, #6 Marshall. The marquee match drew a crowd of over 3,000 fans and was watched by many more on ESPN+. The game was very back-and-forth, with WVU senior forward Yoran Popovic scoring in the 17th minute and the Thundering Herd’s Pedro Dolabella scoring an equalizing goal just two minutes later. The Mountaineers then took a 2-1 lead right before the end of the first half, thanks to sophomore forward Ciro Bourlot Jaeggi. Midway through the second half, the Herd tied the game and it stayed at 2-2 for the remainder of regulation. The Mountain State rivals played two overtime periods, but were unable to score, so the match ended in a tie.

The undefeated Mountaineers return to action tonight when they host Dayton. The Flyers are 3-2-2 this season and are also coming off of a tie. The match will be at home for WVU, and fans that are unable to attend can watch on ESPN+.

WEST VIRGINIA ROUNDUP

• The #15 West Virginia women’s soccer team increased its winning streak to three games on Sunday when it defeated Kent State, 2-1, at home. The Mountaineers scored the opening goal when senior defender Jordan Brewster made a penalty kick in the first half. Redshirt senior forward Lauren Segalla then increased the lead to 2-0 with a goal in the second half. Kent State avoided getting shut out by making a penalty kick in the final minute, but WVU earned the win to move to 6-2-1 this season.

• One key to West Virginia’s win over #15 Virginia Tech was the Mountaineer defense’s ability to stop the Hokies in the redzone. The WVU defense allowed only seven redzone points by stopping VT from scoring on three of its four trips to the redzone.

AROUND THE BIG 12

• West Virginia’s Jared Bartlett was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week and he was joined by a bunch of Cowboys on the Conference weekly honors list. Oklahoma State took the other three honors, with redshirt senior running back Jaylen Warren taking the Offensive Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week awards in his first start. Fellow Cowboy Jason Taylor II was the Special Teams Player of the Week.
• West Virginia had the Big 12’s biggest win of the week by beating #15 Virginia Tech 27-21. After that, Kansas State probably had the next best win. The Wildcats were underdogs at home, but backup quarterback Will Howard stepped up to lead K-State to a huge 38-17 win over Nevada. The Wildcats also moved into the national rankings at #25 after the victory.

AROUND THE NCAA

• After falling behind 21-3 at home in the first quarter, #11 Florida fought back to give #1 Alabama a game. The Crimson Tide was able to hold on to a 31-29 win.
• #10 Penn State was able to keep the “White Out” magic alive by holding off #22 Auburn, 28-20, on Saturday. Senior quarterback Sean Clifford completed 28 of 32 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns for the Nittany Lions.
• #23 BYU remains undefeated after knocking off its third straight Pac-12 opponent, #19 Arizona State, 27-17. BYU sophomore quarterback Jaren Hall had 214 passing yards, 38 rushing yards, and two touchdowns.

ODDS AND ENDS

• Sunday Night Football did not disappoint, as the Baltimore Ravens shocked the NFL with a 36-35 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson was 0-3 against Kansas City before the victory.

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