WVU overcomes slow start to pull away from Robert Morris in season opener

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A “Tiger” was on the loose Saturday at West Virginia.

When Robert Morris coach Bernard Clark met the media after the Colonials’ season-opening 45-3 loss to the Mountaineers, he wasn’t in the mood for moral victories.

“It’s just not in my DNA,” said Clark, the former Orange Bowl MVP as a middle linebacker at Miami.

Clark, who went on to a short NFL career with Cincinnati and Seattle, earned the nickname “Tiger” during his playing days.

“Where I played college football, I get all that — FBS, Big 12 — (but) I don’t believe in moral victories.”

Robert Morris ventured south onto West Virginia’s country roads and eventually encountered a dead end at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium.

But not before the Colonials took a detour to get there, threatening to make WVU coach Rich Rodriguez’s return to the Mountaineers sideline an uncomfortable one with an inspired first-half performance.

“I thought we had a great first half,” Clark said. “Our guys played tough against a decent opponent like West Virginia. We were down 10-3, and then to come back out, it disappointed me not playing the way we were capable of playing. If we would’ve played the second half like we did the first half, maybe I’d be a little more excited. But the fact that we didn’t just kind of ticks me off.”

Nicco Marchiol passed for 224 yards and a touchdown and added 56 yards and another score on the ground, and West Virginia overcame a sluggish start to open the season by rolling in the second half before a crowd of 57,093.

“I tell them this all time,” Clark said. “I went to the University of Miami. That’s in the city. West Virginia is in a town. So everybody shows up. That’s the great thing about it. You’ve got an opportunity to be on a big stage as a player for an FCS program.”

Rodriguez is in his second stint at WVU after going 86-60 during a seven-year stretch from 2001-07. In between, he made stops at Michigan, Arizona and Jacksonville State.

“We obviously didn’t play well at all in the first half,” Rodriguez said. “West Virginia beating West Virginia … the second half went like it should’ve.”

In the first meeting between the schools, West Virginia finally pulled away on a pair of Jahiem White touchdown runs in the third quarter to go up by three scores.

“Last year, the young man, White, was an outstanding running back and he kind of proved it today more than anything else,” Clark said. “They just kind of overpowered us.”

WVU (1-0) outgained Robert Morris (0-1) by a margin of 625-123.

Before Rodriquez pulled his regulars in the fourth quarter, Marchiol finished 17 for 20 and Cam Vaughn caught seven passes for 126 yards for West Virginia.

Robert Morris quarterback Zach Tanner completed 7 of 21 passes for 70 yards, and Ethan Shine managed just 20 yards rushing as the leader for the Colonials.

West Virginia scored on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead. The Mountaineers went 83 yards in 3 minutes, 22 seconds, capped by Marchiol’s 10-yard keeper.

They added Kade Hensley’s 27-yard field goal 16 seconds into the second quarter to go up 10-0.

But WVU fumbled on consecutive possessions — the Mountaineers lost four of five overall — the first by Oran Singleton Jr., leading to Jayson Jenkins’ 36-yard field goal that pulled Robert Morris withing 10-3 with 3:08 left before halftime.

“That was a typical first game, but I don’t know if I’ve ever had or seen three fumbles in four plays,” Rodriguez said. “That’s what I think we had. There are a lot of things to clean up and fix, but there are a lot of guys playing for the first time and there are a lot of things we’ve got to do as a staff to be better for next week. We’ll take the win and grow from it and see what happens next.”

West Virginia next faces Ohio on Saturday in Athens, Ohio, a week before hosting Pitt on Sept. 13 in the “Backyard Brawl.”

White, who finished with 93 yards rushing on 18 carries, scored on runs of 4 and 1 yard in the third quarter as WVU took a 24-3 lead.

The Mountaineers added three touchdowns in the fourth after wearing down the smaller Colonials. Marchiol connected with Vaughn on a 46-yard completion, Cyncir Bowers raced 26 yards and backup quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. added a 56-yard run.

Robert Morris goes back on the road Saturday to visit Youngstown State at 20,630-seat Stambaugh Stadium. The Colonials’ home-opener at 3,000-seat Joe Walton Stadium, the third-smallest capacity in the Championship Subdivision (FCS), is Sept. 13 against Division II West Liberty.

“I told our guys before the game that this is why you come to play college football,” Clark said, referring to WVU’s 60,000-seat facility. “This is the biggest atmosphere they’ve ever been in. I was proud of how they started the game. They started out playing hard in front of this crowd.”

As much as anyone, Clark loved the atmosphere in Morgantown. Perhaps it’s the “Tiger” in him.

“To step up on a stage like this is exciting. I love it. I love a hostile environment,” Clark said. “It’s just who I am. I thrive on it more than anything else, and I hope they can experience it again.”

The Colonials won’t face another FBS program this season, but they’re scheduled to play a pair of Mid-American Conference opponents, Akron and Buffalo, in 2026, and against Pitt at Acrisure Stadium at a date to be determined.