Robert Morris Blown Out By West Virginia Despite Highly Contested First Half

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — After an offseason full of turnover of both the roster and coaching staff, the Robert Morris football season officially kicked off on Saturday afternoon when the Colonials took on the Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Robert Morris lost a majority of its starters and both coordinators in the offseason which forced them to overhaul both the roster and the staff in the offseason which is similar to the turnover that the West Virginia faced as they ushered in the second Rich Rod era in Morgantown.

While the Colonials kept things close in the first half, the Mountaineers ran them down in the second half and pulled away with a 45-3 opening-week victory.

The Colonials entered the game as massive underdogs as they faced their first Big-12 opponent in program history but managed to keep the score close through the first two quarters because of their defense which caused three first-half turnovers.

Robert Morris started the game with the ball but not much came from it as West Virginia forced a quick three-and-out and a punt.

Following the Colonials’ punt, the Mountaineers offense led by quarterback Nicco Marchiol and running back Jaheim White marched right down the field in 10 plays for the first touchdown of the game.

Marchiol capped the drive off with a 10-yard scramble that ended in the opening score.

The Colonials offense looked better in their second drive of the game and even passed midfield before they were forced to punt after a 3rd-and-7 rushing play resulted in a one-yard loss.

The Mountaineers’ second drive was stunted due to a 10-yard loss on a fumble by wide receiver Justin Smith-Brown and were eventually forced to punt after a three-and-out.

Later in the quarter, the Mountaineers had the ball again and were deep in Colonials’ territory but were forced to take a 27-yard Kade Hensley field goal after the Colonials’ defense finally stepped up and stopped the rushing attack of Marchiol and his running backs.

The Colonials quickly advanced the ball to near midfield after one of quarterback Zach Tanner’s best throws of the half found wide receiver Kai Holloway 18 yards down field. Despite that throw, the Colonials surrendered possession of the ball just two plays later when UMass transfer running back Donta Whack fumbled the ball.

With the ball on the Colonials’ side of the 50 following the fumble, the Mountaineers looked to extend its lead over its FCS opponent but then the fumbling issues started for West Virginia as they fumbled the ball away on their next three possessions.

Despite the gift of recovering three-straight fumbles, the only Colonial points of the half came on a 36-yard field goal from Jayson Jenkins at the 3:08 mark of the second quarter.

The Mountaineers took a 10-3 lead into halftime despite being nearly 40-point favorites heading into the game.

West Virginia came out in the second half with renewed energy as they scored the game’s second touchdown on a nine-play, 64-yard drive. White finished the drive off with a one-yard run in which he leaped over the top of the pile for the score.

Following the score by White, the Colonials and Mountaineers traded punts before Robert Morris committed its next mistake when Tanner fumbled the ball away on his own 24-yard line. The Mountaineers capitalized on the turnover and punched it in just three plays later on White’s second touchdown of the day which made the score 24-3 with 5:21 left in the third quarter.

West Virginia scored again at the top of the fourth quarter on a 46-yard strike from Marchiol to wide receiver Cam Vaughn which drained any last ditch hope that the Colonials had.

Ultimately, the Mountaineers went onto score two more touchdowns with their backups in the quarter as they cruised to the victory after surviving the sloppy, turnover filled first half.

While Robert Morris took its lumps on Saturday against a far tougher FBS opponent, the Colonials will head to Ohio for a matchup against Youngstown St. before playing in their home opener against West Liberty in two weeks.