West Virginia defeated the Arizona Wildcats 31-26 to improve to 4-4 on the season and 3-2 in Big 12 play.

Here are a few thoughts/takeaways I had from today's game.

His best football is yet to come, but this was a nice step in the right direction for the redshirt sophomore quarterback and a nice rebound after a poor second half against Kansas State. In contrast to previous appearances, Neal Brown let Marchiol throw the ball down a little more, and with success.

Very precise and knew how much touch/zip to give the ball. I understand they probably didn't want to put too much on him in his first start, but I'd like to see what he could do with more options throwing over the middle or lower field. There was a lot of bottom-up east-west completions tonight, which was just the right thing to do.

But that 54-yard dart to Traylon Ray? A thing of beauty.

When West Virginia did nothing on its drive midway through the fourth quarter, you knew the Mountaineers were in trouble. Broken coverages, misunderstandings and outright failures continue in WVU's secondary.

Why on earth is Trey Lathan in charge of Tetairoa McMillan without any over-the-top help? Jordan Lesley has to admit that. Lathan struggled in pass coverage early in his career, and putting him in that position is just asking for trouble.

The loss to Iowa State, Neal Brown's comments, and then a really bad game against Kansas State have understandably created a lot of negativity surrounding the program. This was an opportunity to break out and feel a little better as we head into the much-needed bye week. The fourth quarter wasn't pretty, but a win is a win.

A loss in this game would have had a negative impact on the team's confidence and possibly their acceptance of the final month of the season. They at least gave themselves a chance to hang around and compete for a top spot in the Big 12. I know, I know…one week at a time.

One of the main reasons I picked West Virginia to win this week is because I didn't think Brown would be overtaken by Brent Brennan. I'm not sure how long he, Brennan, will last out there, especially since he was a late recruit and didn't really do much at his last stop, San Jose State.

I keep saying it: You can't just beat the teams you're supposed to beat. To be a true competitor in a Power Four league, you have to beat some of the top players. Winning on the road with your backup quarterback and backup left tackle is impressive, but Arizona was also struggling in key spots early in this game.

In order for Brown to win back former climbing confidants, he needs this team to compete against good football teams. Again, I'm not taking anything away from tonight, but that doesn't change the record of 3:17 against top 25 teams. It simply drives away the bad taste of the last two weeks, as mentioned above.

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