Ohio beats West Virginia in Rich Rodriguez's 1st road test

ATHENS, Ohio — Parker Navarro threw one touchdown pass, and Ohio overcame his three interceptions and held on to beat West Virginia, 17-10, on Saturday.

Ohio (1-1) of the Mid-American Conference beat a Big 12 opponent for the second time in three years.

West Virginia (1-1) lost preseason all-Big 12 running back Jahiem White to a second-quarter injury and never recovered.

Navarro maintained long drives with his scrambling and, more importantly, kept the Mountaineers offense off the field.

Ohio managed a total of three points on two straight drives inside the West Virginia 20 before Navarro started picking apart the Mountaineers defense.

The Bobcats scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the first half. Navarro’s 15-yard scramble set up Sieh Bangura’s 1-yard TD run and, after West Virginia punted, Navarro hit Chase Hendricks with a 31-yard scoring pass for a 17-7 halftime lead. Hendricks finished with eight catches for 121 yards.

Navarro threw three second-half interceptions, but West Virginia couldn’t capitalize and punted each time. Navarro completed 22 of 31 passes for 247 yards and ran 18 times for 87 yards.

The Mountaineers had plenty of opportunities in Rich Rodriguez’s first road test since he returned for his second stint as their coach, but they managed just a field goal over the final three quarters.

Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson replaced starter Nicco Marchiol for two series in the second half without success before Marchiol returned. Marchiol’s arm was hit as he tried to pass, and Ohio’s Cam Hollobaugh made the interception near midfield with 3:13 remaining.

West Virginia got the ball back on downs at its 27 with 17 seconds left but couldn’t make it past midfield. Marchiol finished 15 of 26 for 178 yards.

Losing White for the long term would be a huge blow to the Mountaineers’ season. The junior was named to the all-Big 12 preseason team by league coaches after rushing for 845 yards a year ago.

The Bobcats outgained West Virginia, 429-250, and held a 2-1 advantage in time of possession despite Navarro’s interceptions. Ohio edged Iowa State, 10-7, at home in 2023 on the way to the school’s second of three straight double-digit winning seasons.

West Virginia hosts archrival Pitt next Saturday.