The West Virginia Mountaineers are down bad it appears, even entering Week 11 on the heels of a win at Arizona the week prior. Entering their matchup with Cincinnati on Saturday, it appears that the Mountaineers will be without their starting QB Garrett Greene.
Is Garrett Greene Playing Today?
As it stands right now, Garrett Greene will not play against Cincinnati. West Virginia will turn to backup QB Nicco Marchiol from Nippert Stadium in Ohio as the program hopes to continue their road success they started a week ago against Arizona.
Marchiol will make his second start in a row for WVU, famously leading the Mountaineers past the Wildcats a week ago in a thrilling contest.
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Against Arizona, Marchiol completed 18-of-22 passes for two touchdowns and led a calculated and balanced attack vs. the Wildcats. He also rushed the ball 11 times for 39 yards as the program averaged over 5.0 yards per carry and 9.0 yards per pass.
Marchiol was a former four-star recruit and got his most extensive action since a Week 4 game against Texas Tech in 2023.
What Happened to Garrett Greene?
In Week 8, Greene and the Mountaineers put up a fight against Kansas State but ultimately couldn’t hold up against the Wildcats’ strong second half. WVU was forced to yield in a war of attrition.
Greene, along with starting RB Jahiem White and LT Wyatt Milum, all exited the game with injuries against the Wildcats, though specifics were unclear at the time.
Head coach Neal Brown later updated fans, indicating he believed each was dealing with head injuries.
“We got a beat-up locker room, probably the most injuries I can remember in a first half,” Brown initially said.
It was later clarified that Greene’s injury was upper-body, though he remained probable to suit up against Arizona. In the end, he missed the game, and WVU replaced him with Marchiol.
Brown said the switch was a sign of good things to come.
“He’s mature, he’s been patient, and he’s gotten better,” Brown said following the Arizona game. “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 (Saturday) when we needed him and I thought he played really well.”
Eyeing a bowl game this season, Brown and WVU fans will hope Marchiol can play just as well in place of Greene against Cincinnati.
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