Saturday Storylines: Arizona-West Virginia parallels, RichRod Bowl, unleashing T-Mac

Five storylines ahead of Arizona football's matchup with West Virginia on Saturday at Arizona Stadium. 

Arizona and West Virginia's styles don't mirror each other, but the Wildcat and Mountaineer football programs are in very similar spots entering Saturday. 

The Wildcats are 13th in the Big 12 in rushing yards, while the Mountaineers are fifth, averaging just over 202 yards per game this season. Arizona is sixth in the Big 12 in passing yards per game (253.4), while WVU ranks 12th (204.6). 

Arizona relies on its passing game about 65% of the time in games, whereas West Virginia is more balanced and runs the ball about 49.7% of the time. Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said the Mountaineers "are really efficient running the football."

"I always respect teams that play football the right way — and they do," said Brennan. "They look like they have fun playing football."  

How are the Wildcats and Mountaineers similar?

Both teams have a 3-4 record after entering the season with high expectations following bowl victories in 2023. The Wildcats placed fifth in the preseason Big 12 media poll, with three first-place votes; WVU was seventh after finishing last season 9-4 with a win over North Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. 

Additionally, both teams have a plethora of injuries, mostly in Arizona's defense and West Virginia's offense. The Wildcats will be without linebacker Jacob Manu, nickel back Treydan Stukes and safety Gunner Maldonado for the remainder of the season. UA star cornerback Tacario Davis missed the second half of last week's loss to Colorado with a groin injury. The Wildcats have also played without starting cornerback Marquis Groves-Killebrew and nose tackle Chubba Ma'ae. Offensively, the Wildcats will be without left tackle Rhino Tapa'atoutai, who suffered a leg injury, for the rest of the season and tight end Keyan Burnett is questionable after missing last week. 

"We're at the stage in the college football season where someone has to pick up the flag, and someone has to go out there and do the job," Brennan said.

West Virginia will most likely play without preseason All-Big 12 left tackle Wyatt Milum and quarterback Garrett Greene, who leads the Mountaineers in rushing yards. Injured WVU starting running back Jahiem White will play on Saturday.

If Greene is unable to play on Saturday, the Mountaineers will start left-handed quarterback Nicco Marchiol, a redshirt sophomore from Chandler. Marchiol will most likely share the field with his former Hamilton High School teammates in Arizona safety Genesis Smith and linebacker Taye Brown. Marchiol's older brother, Santino, was a linebacker at Arizona but was dismissed from the team in 2018. 

Preparing for Greene and Marchiol's different skillset is "one of those challenges you have to deal with," said Brennan.

"Both of them are good players," said Arizona's head coach. "Both of them have made plays for them. You go into the game with a plan that encompasses both. But I think Greene is going to play. That's a tough kid. He's a good player and I'd be surprised if he doesn't play. Whatever it is, we have to be able to line up and execute the details of our assignments, and that's where the focus needs to be."

Wildcats 'have to be creative' feeding T-Mac

Arizona star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who is 468 yards away from becoming the UA's all-time leading receiver, erupted for a school-record 304 yards and four touchdowns in the Wildcats' season opener. Since then, McMillan has just two games with over 100 receiving yards and hasn't scored a touchdown in six straight games, the longest drought of his UA career. 

McMillan was targeted five times in Arizona's loss to Colorado, the lowest since he was targeted four times against Northern Arizona. UA passing game coordinator Matt Adkins said Colorado bracketed McMillan periodically and "there were a lot of two people playing over the top of him."

"T is an amazing player," Adkins said of McMillan. "Everyone in Tucson knows that. But also, everyone across the country knows that. He's dictating a lot of coverage, which opens up opportunity for other guys. We just need to make sure that when those opportunities pop, we're capitalizing on that."

Finding the balance between utilizing other wide receivers, tight ends and running backs, and implementing Arizona's most productive pass-catcher, is "complicated when they're going to do that to (McMillan)," said UA head coach Brent Brennan. 

"We have to be creative with our scheme that way in terms of how do we give him a chance to get away from that (double-team)," Brennan said.

Although McMillan's touchdown numbers have dipped this season, "T-Mac is not a complainer at all," Brennan said. 

"That's not his nature," said Brennan. "He's a team-first guy all the time, which makes him beautiful. He's the type of player that knows he can help fix some of the challenges we've had offensively. He knows that he can positively impact the football game — and he's demonstrated that before."

Considering West Virginia's passing defense is 110th in college football — second-worst in the Big 12 — and the Mountaineers are without starting cornerback Ayden Garnes, Saturday could be McMillan's first time finding the end zone in nearly two months.  

Hunter rising in Arizona offense

Arizona redshirt sophomore wide receiver Chris Hunter scored his first collegiate touchdown last week, which ended up being the Wildcats' only score against Colorado. 

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On the CU 1-yard line, Hunter, lined up wide, motioned inside and caught a shovel pass from quarterback Noah Fifita. Hunter said the touchdown was "something you dream of since you're a little kid" and "a big sigh of relief."

"Like, finally, it felt like I truly arrived in that moment for me personally," Hunter said. "It gives you chills, you hear the crowd pop, it's a great feeling."

The 6-1, 192-pound Hunter joined Arizona in 2022 under the previous coaching regime after a standout career at Isidore Newman High School in New Orleans, where he was teammates with Texas quarterback Arch Manning, who Hunter called a "super down-to-earth dude" and "one of the coolest people you'll ever meet." Former NFL quarterback Eli Manning and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. are Newman alumni.

At Newman, a private school, "it wasn't the easiest transition" coming from a public elementary school," Hunter said.

"I didn't feel like an adult, but I felt like I was forced to be older a little quicker," he added. "Just the kids I was around, it was culturally different in that instance. That was the only difficult part I'd say. But it wasn't too difficult, it was just something to get used to."

After joining Arizona, Hunter went back to the bottom of the barrel and proved himself as a scout-team wide receiver in the last two-plus seasons, where he "was able to hone in on my craft, work on my skills, target my weaknesses as a receiver and use that time to work on that." Hunter was often matched up with his former roommate and standout cornerback Tacario Davis. 

"I didn't take those reps for granted," he said.

Arizona passing game coordinator Matt Adkins said, "When you practice with that type of intensity, good things just start happening for you."

"I still think there's going to be a game or two where everyone walks away saying, 'Wow, he's a heck of a player and did a great job,'" Adkins said of Hunter.   

Arizona's long-developing offense has only averaged 16.7 points per game since the season opener and has produced nearly just as many turnovers (15) as touchdowns (17) this season. 

"We're going to figure this out," Hunter said. "We're going to thrive on offense. It's coming. Our coaches instill confidence into us every single day. Our offense is nothing to worry about. We'll be straight." 

Hot seat in Morgantown?  

Leading up to Arizona-West Virginia, Mike Asti, the managing editor at WV Sports Now, joined "Spears and Ali" on ESPN Tucson to provide and inside look at the Mountaineers — and why this game could impact WVU head coach Neal Brown's time in Morgantown. Here are three questions from the interview:

How would you assess the temperature of West Virginia football right now? 

A: "If you're a Mountaineer fan, you're pretty angry, frustrated, disappointed and fed up. I think all of those terms and phrases work. ... The fanbase is in Year 6 of this thing under Neal Brown. He's a really nice guy, but with Vanderbilt being ranked in the (Associated Press) Top 25 Poll, three programs in all of FBS have not appeared in the AP poll at least one week since 2019. Those three teams are Texas Tech — also in the Big 12 — and West Virginia and Rutgers. West Virginia doesn't want to be in that thing. They were in the AP poll frequently decades upon decades at frequent points, so the fanbase is not happy."

Which offensive and defensive players do you envision being X-factors on Saturday?

A: "(Running back) C.J. Donaldson, he's gotta have a big game. They need to establish the run early. In wins, they've established the run early and were able to keep it going. If you watch the Oklahoma State film, you'll think, 'Wow, this team is going to put it on Arizona and it's going to be a long day at the office.' But if you watch Penn State, Iowa State or Kansas State (games), you're going to say, 'Ugh, that's an average program and disappointing.'

"The difference (in those games are) they establish the run early and stick with the run to set up plays through the air. ... Defensively, that's a tough call because they have to stop the run, but I'd say (defensive end) Sean Martin, who's had an underwhelming season so far. (Linebacker) Josiah Trotter is one to watch out for in general. His last name pops out. That's NFL lineage, Clemson dynasty lineage. He is a beast. He's a future NFL player, for sure. He's all over the place and you're going to hear his name called a lot throughout the game."

Tell us about the history of West Virginia football and its traditions...

A: "It is quintessential, historic college football. I do think there's a lot of history there. When you tour the facility and look around the stadium, there's a lot of history there. It's the 15th-winningest program and they have 15 conference titles. These are Top 25 numbers in the last 125-plus years in the sport, which has not been the case in the last six years. ... It'll be interesting if they lose to Arizona, how it'll be at the next West Virginia home game. This would be peak anger at Neal Brown in these six years. ... There were rumors that there would be a plane with a banner that said, 'Fire Neal Brown.' That didn't happen, but that's the verge the fanbase is on right now." 

RichRod Bowl

Saturday will be the first-ever matchup between Arizona and West Virginia in football, but the two programs are tied together through a few people; more notably, head coach Rich Rodriguez. 

Rodriguez, a pioneer of the uptempo spread-option offense, was the head coach of the Mountaineers from 2001-07, won four Big East championships and went 60-26 overall. Just before West Virginia won the Fiesta Bowl in Rodriguez's last season in Morgantown, he announced his departure for the same role at Michigan. WVU, led by quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton, beat Oklahoma 48-28 in the Fiesta Bowl. 

Following a 15-22 record in three seasons at Michigan, Rodriguez was fired, then hired by Arizona two years later. In six seasons at Arizona, Rodriguez held a 43-35 record and led the Wildcats to five bowl appearances and a Pac-12 South championship in 2014. He was fired after the 2017 season. The Wildcats have hired three different head coaches since then.

Rodriguez is currently the head coach of Jacksonville State, a newer FBS program, that won its first bowl game last season. Rodriguez is 22-9 in two seasons with the Gamecocks, which competes in Conference-USA. 

Other Arizona-West Virginia ties include linebacker Tony Fields II, who was a three-year starter for the Wildcats next to Colin Schooler, and safety Scottie Young Jr., who both transferred to WVU during the pandemic-influenced 2020 season when the Pac-12's football season was in limbo. Fields, now a linebacker for the Cleveland Browns, was a Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year for the Mountaineers.