NIL

Mountaineers Win Backyard Brawl Overtime Thriller!

Published

3 months ago

September 14, 2025

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A sellout crowd of 62,108 saw a Backyard Brawl for the ages as Nicco Marchiol rallied West Virginia from 10 points down with 9:23 left to pull out an unlikely 31-24 victory over touchdown-favorite Pitt here at Milan Puskar Stadium this afternoon.

Coach Pat Narduzzi’s Panther defense came unglued late in the game after taking control in the third quarter with a pair of interceptions that led to 21 unanswered Panther points.

But West Virginia (2-1) responded with a rally of its own once coach Rich Rodriguez went back to Marchiol late in the second half after using freshman Scotty Fox Jr. and redshirt senior Jaylen Henderson behind center seeking a spark.

Marchiol was 9-for-11 passing for 109 yards on West Virginia’s final two possessions of regulation, including the game tying 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Grayson Barnes with 11 seconds remaining.

For the game, he completed 19 of his 25 attempts for 192 yards and a touchdown, while transfer running back Tye Edwards generated 141 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries.

“Our quarterback, Nicco, this kid has a lot of heart,” Rodriguez said. “You know we were going back and forth, trying to get a spark here or there, and then right at the end, he played some great football; made some great passes.”

Edwards’ touchdown in overtime from the 1, his third of the game, was the clinching score.

“Happy for our fans who hung in there; never quit,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve always felt the longer the game goes, the more it goes to our advantage because of the way our guys work, and whether it’s overtime or not. I know at times it looked bleak, and we got

enough mistakes for five games, but man, our defense just played its tail off all game, and it kept us in the game.”

Only two West Virginia-Pitt games have gone into overtime, and both have happened here at Milan Puskar Stadium. The other one occurred in 1997 when the Panthers rallied to beat the Mountaineers 41-38 in triple overtime.

Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein, who said earlier this week that he was concerned about fan misbehavior and having “batteries and beer” thrown at his, was more rattled by the pressure West Virginia’s defense brought at him.

Coordinator Zach Alley, whom Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi mistakenly referred to as Zach Allen during his press conference earlier this week, brought wave after wave of defenders against Holstein. West Virginia got to the Pitt quarterback six times, hit him several others, broke up three passes and came up with a big red zone interception.

Holstein finished the game completing 22-of-37 passes for 301 yards and a touchdown, but Pitt could only muster 46 yards rushing on 34 attempts and the Panthers’ leading ground gainer Desmond Reid was a non-factor in the game.

The game’s opening play saw West Virginia miss a golden opportunity when Curtis Jones Jr. sacked Holstein for an 11-yard loss, jarring the football loose in the process. Kekoura Tarnue was in position to recover the fumble, but instead of falling on it, he tried to pick it up and the ball ended up in Justin Holmes’ arms at the Panther 8.

West Virginia came out of that with great field position when the Mountaineers forced a Panther punt, which Preston Fox returned 2 yards to the Pitt 48.

Marchiol’s first pass was successful to Rodney Gallgaher III for 20 yards to the Panther 28, but the drive stalled at the Pitt 26, where Kade Hensley’s 44-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.

Near the end of the first quarter, Pitt got into position for Trey Butkowski to try a 43-yard field goal, but his kick was unsuccessful. The Panthers’ big play to get into field goal range was Holstein’s fourth-and-5 pass to tight end Malachi Thomas for 22 yards to the WVU 7.

However, on the play, Jaedon Moore was called for unnecessary roughness, placing the ball back at the 22. A sack of Holstein, an incompletion and short pass to Raphael Williams Jr. necessitated Pitt’s try for a field goal.

WVU took over at its 25, and Edwards began and ended the drive with 12-yard runs, his second, which included a great move at the line of scrimmage, ended with him standing up in Pitt’s end zone.

Edwards totaled 38 yards on the ground, while Marchiol completed passes of 18 to Cam Vaughn and 11 to Barnes on the nine-play, 75-yard scoring march.

Pitt started its fifth possession at its 39, and Holstein passes of 16 yards to Deuce Spann and 22 yards to Williams Jr., in addition to a personal foul targeting call on linebacker Ashton Woods, moved the ball to the WVU 11.

Replay confirmed the call on the field and Woods was disqualified.

Two plays later, Holstein’s pass intended for Zion Fowler-El was off target and intercepted by Darrian Lewis, who returned it to the Mountaineer 10.

Following an exchange of possessions, Holstein put Pitt in business by eluding pressure and hitting Bryce Yates in stride for a 68-yard hookup before he was knocked out of bounds by Tarnue at the WVU 6.

The Panthers’ next three plays consisted of a Holstein 1-yard run that required him to miss a play when he was shaken up, backup Cole Gonzales’ pass to the nearside of the field to Fowler-El that fell incomplete and Holstein’s incomplete fade pass to Johnson in the end zone.

Butkowski completed the drive with a 23-yard field goal with 1:37 left in the half.

The half ended in controversial fashion as a result of the ACC officiating crew, minus its lead official Gary Patterson, which allowed the first-half clock to run out despite an unnecessary roughness penalty called on the Panthers for hitting Marchiol late.

The explanation on the field was that, despite Marchiol getting the necessary first-down yardage with one second still remaining, the clock started immediately. Had the clock stopped, the Mountaineers would have been able to run the field goal unit out to try a kick at the Panther 27.

This is the same officiating and replay crew that botched a replay at Syracuse last week that led to Patterson’s resignation.

West Virginia extended its lead on its second possession of the second half with Fox in the game. Taking over at its 20 after a Panther punt in the end zone, the Mountaineers began to move on Edwards’ 18-yard sweep to the WVU 41.

Two plays later, Fox hit Justin Smith-Brown in stride on a quick pass down the far side of the field and Smith-Brown ran to the Pitt 3 where he was tackled out of bounds by Cruce Brookins for a 56-yard gainer.

Three runs later, Edwards bulled in from the 1, and Hensley’s conversion kick gave West Virginia a 14-3 lead.

Pitt (2-1) immediately answered, thanks to Holstein’s bomb to Williams Jr. down the near sideline that he took 67 yards to the WVU 6 before Fred Perry pushed him out of bounds. It took Pitt four plays to score with Holstein taking it in from the 1.

Holstein’s conversion pass in the back of the end zone to Cartarus Hicks was initially ruled incomplete on the field, but after review, the call was overruled, making the score West Virginia 14, Pitt 11.

The Panthers got the ball right back when linebacker Kyle Louis picked off Fox’s pass that was intended for Smith-Brown to the far sideline and returned 21 yards to the Mountaineer 14.

A holding penalty on Justin Holmes, blocking for Deuce Spann on his 6-yard run, moved the ball back to the 16, and then Holstein was flagged for intentional grounding on third down, requiring Butkowski to kick a game-tying 46-yard field goal with 3:30 left in the third quarter.

On the ensuing possession, Fox’s second interception, this one by linebacker Braylan Lovelace, gave Pitt possession of the football at the WVU 24.

The Panther offense once again went backwards as a result of two false start penalties, but Butkowski punched through his third field goal of the game, this from 36 yards, to give the Panthers a 17-14 lead to begin the fourth quarter.

Here, Rodriguez opted to give Henderson a try at quarterback.

But yet another Panther possession began in West Virginia territory when Henderson was sacked for a 10-yard loss on fourth and 3, giving Pitt the football at the WVU 47 with 11:26 showing on the clock.

Six plays later, Holstein extended Pitt’s lead with a 14-yard touchdown strike to a wide-open Williams Jr., capping a 47-yard drive that consumed just 2:03.

Hensley’s conversion kick expanded Pitt’s lead to 24-14 with 9:23 remaining.

Marchiol then returned to the field and took West Virginia down to the Pitt 3 where the drive stalled and Hensley kicked a 21-yard field goal. Marchiol completed all four of his passes for 45 yards on the drive.

Marchiol continued his hot hand when the Panther offense was unable to run out the clock and punted the football back to West Virginia with 2:47 left. With one timeout and the two-minute timeout available, the Mountaineers took possession at their 13.

He completed 5 of his 7 pass attempts for 64 yards, the big one going for 34 yards to Barnes that took the football to Pitt’s 41. A pair of Clay Ash runs, a 13-yard pass to Vaughn and a pass interference penalty on Pitt’s Rashan Murray on Vaughn gave WVU a first and goal at the Pitt 2 with 18 seconds left.

Marchiol’s first pass in the end zone to Gallagher was broken up by Lovelace, but his second landed softly in Barnes’ arms for a 2-yard touchdown with just 11 seconds to go. Hensley’s conversion kicked tied the game at 24.

Pitt chose to take a knee and run out the final :07 to send the game into overtime, where West Virginia took possession at its 25 and used three Edward runs of 14 yards to get to the Pitt 11.

A Marchiol pass to tight end Jacob Barrick for 7 yards gave West Virginia a third and 1 at the Pitt 4. Marchiol’s run up the middle was unsuccessful, but Edwards got 3 on fourth down to give the Mountaineers first and goal at the Panther 1.

Another Marchiol sneak couldn’t get the ball in, but Edwards’ second try did.

Pitt’s possession to attempt and extend the game got off to a bad start when Juelz Goff was thrown for a 1-yard loss. A Holstein pass under duress was then nearly picked off by Tarnue.

On third down, Eddie Vesterinen got to Holstein to sack him for a 9-yard loss, and Holstein’s fourth-and-20 pass, again under heavy pressure, sailed out of bounds and the game ended.

“We are still going to have moments and it’s going to be tough in spots, but to come back after a tough week and to focus and to beat your rival … and when it looked like you weren’t gonna beat them, (I’m) just really, really proud of them. I’m blessed to be here and blessed to be their coach.”

West Virginia fans celebrated the victory by singing “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and then Pitt’s theme song “Sweet Caroline.”

A clip of Rodriguez from his introductory press conference also appeared on the video board to make a special announcement to the Panther fans who stayed until the end.

“Any of you other Pitt fans can leave the building now,” he said.

Eastern college football’s longest rivalry among power conference programs will hit the pause button for four years until the rivalry resumes in Pittsburgh in 2029.

West Virginia begins Big 12 play at Kansas next Saturday in a game that kicks off at 6 p.m. and will be televised nationally on FSN1.

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Miami NIL financial commitment in 2026

Published

5 minutes ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The landscape is evolving fast, and more teams saw the success of Miami, Texas Tech, Oregon, and Indiana in the portal, and will become more
competitive. Texas Tech is doubling down, and we can expect more competition even inside the ACC with Clemson and VaTech. Point here, is what was good and competitive in 2025, wont be enough in 2026. Solid HS recruiting helps, but just look at the impact of our portal class this season. January 2nd through the 10th is going to be crucial, and hope we have our ducks in a row right now. The financial commitment needs to grow to be on par with Texas Tech and Oregon.

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College football: Four key Gophers coming back in unique NIL campaign

Published

60 minutes ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

PHOENIX — Four important Gopher football players were part of a unique media campaign on Tuesday.

Offensive linemen Greg Johnson and Nathan Roy, and defensive backs John Nestor and Kerry Brown allowed the Gophers’ NIL collective, Dinkytown Athletes, to share news they will play in the Rate Bowl against New Mexico on Friday, and will return to Minnesota for the 2026 season.

The social media posts were “presented by Cub Foods,” and those players will be recipients of the grocer’s NIL contribution next year. Dinkytown Athletes serves as a subcontractor.

Athletics Director Mark Coyle called Cub Foods a “foundational partner” of Gopher sports.

“That is how we take the next step, with that type of involvement with NIL side of it,” Coyle told the Pioneer Press. “We are so grateful for their support.”

A few more current Gopher players are expected to join the Cub Foods campaign after the bowl game. But if players on the current roster aren’t included in this specific rollout, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are leaving the U to go into the transfer portal.

For instance, quarterback Drake Lindsey said, independently, two weeks ago that he would return to Minnesota for his redshirt sophomore season in 2026. Other current players have shared they will be back with the Gophers next year.

Meanwhile, the futures of defensive end Anthony Smith, safety Koi Perich and running back Darius Taylor have yet to be shared. Smith and Taylor said Wednesday they have not yet made decisions on their plans for 2026; both are in line to play in the bowl game at Chase Field.

“I really haven’t thought about that stuff,” Taylor said. “I’m just worried about the game. I will figure all that out after the game.”

Smith said he hasn’t ruled out entering the transfer portal. “I don’t know,” he said.

Johnson, who started all 12 regular-season games at guard, will return for his senior season next fall. The Prior Lake native played nearly 700 snaps and was Minnesota’s highest-graded starting offensive lineman in 2025 (75.3 overall mark, per Pro Football Focus).

“Being from Minnesota, I personally didn’t have any thoughts of going elsewhere,” Johnson said. “I think Drake really set the tone for the team. This is Drake’s team. He’s our leader and it’s easy to come back and want to play for a guy like that.”

Roy stepped in as the U’s left tackle during his redshirt freshman year with aplomb, playing a team-high 702 snaps with a 69.0 grade from PFF. The Mukwanago, Wis., native will be back for his redshirt sophomore year.

Nestor transferred in from the Iowa Hawkeyes last year, and the Chicago native started 10 of 12 games as Minnesota’s most-reliable corner. He had a team-high five interceptions, adding 47 tackles in 538 total snaps. He will be a senior in 2026.

Brown continued as a linchpin in Minnesota’s defense for second straight season. The safety and nickel back from Naples, Fla., was fourth on team with 55 tackles and added two interceptions in 579 snaps. He will return for his redshirt junior year.

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Three Mizzou staffers following Kirby Moore to Washington State

Published

2 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

When Kirby Moore got the Washington State head coaching job, Eli Drinkwitz knew a few members of his staff would likely be headed to Pullman soon.

“Moving forward, could lose a couple more people off our staff from analyst roles, as coach Moore finalizes and puts his staff together,” Drinkwitz said on December 16. “It shouldn’t change the dynamic of what we do at all.”

Three of those moves were reported on Wednesday morning by Chris Hummer and Matt Zenitz of CBS and 247Sports.

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The first is Tiger tight ends coach Derham Cato. Cato has coached Mizzou’s tight ends for the last three seasons. He spent six years at Washington, including an overlap with Moore when Moore was a graduate assistant for the Huskies. PowerMizzou.com had alerted subscribers to this move being likely a week ago.

The second coach is assistant offensive line coach Jack Abercrombie. Hummer and Zenitz report that Abercrombie will be the full-time offensive line coach for Moore with Washington State. Prior to his time at Mizzou, Abercrombie was on staff at VMI.

The final Mizzou to Washington State move is a front office move. Brad Larrondo, who has served as the CEO of Every True Tiger Brands, which is Missouri’s third-part partner for name, image and likeness deals. In his role, Larrondo helps Mizzou athletes line up NIL deals and also negotiates NIL and revenue sharing contracts for Mizzou football and men’s basketball players. Larrondo came to Missouri as Drinkwitz’s Director of Football External Relations and Recruiting in March of 2023. Prior to that, he had been the Chief of Staff at Auburn.

Larrondo had spent the previous 28 years in the athletic administration at Boise State, which is just 300 miles from Pullman. He still has family in Boise and sources told PowerMizzou.com the move to Washington State is heavily based in family reasons.

Larrondo’s position is technically not a University or a football program hire. However, the position works very closely with both and whoever replaces him will do so with influence and blessing from both of those entities. Missouri plays Virginia in the Taxslayer Gator Bowl on Saturday night. Any personnel moves or replacements will almost certainly not come until after that game.

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Missouri Damon Wilson files countersuit against Georgia in NIL case

Published

3 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Updated Dec. 24, 2025, 11:28 a.m. ET

Missouri football defensive end Damon Wilson has sued Georgia athletics, a move that counters a Georgia lawsuit filed against Wilson earlier this year and intensifies what was already a novel and likely first-of-its-kind case over an NIL contract dispute.

A 42-page document reviewed by the Columbia Daily Tribune was filed in Boone County on Tuesday.

Georgia is attempting to take Wilson into arbitration and is seeking $390,000 in liquidated damages from the star edge rusher, who transferred to the Tigers in January 2025, over what the university views as an unfulfilled contract with the Bulldogs’ former NIL collective, Classic City Collective.

In response, escalating what was already an attempt at a potentially precedent-setting case, Wilson’s attorneys allege his former team “falsely (told) at least three programs” unnamed Power Four teams that “Wilson would be subject to a $1.2 million buyout.”

The suit also alleges Georgia violated a confidentiality provision in Wilson’s term sheet, which was provided as part of the UGA lawsuit in a public court filing.

Wilson’s suit argues he also was urged to sign the term sheet without legal counsel, and that Georgia did not “immediately submit his name to the transfer portal” but instead “launched an all-out offensive to convince Wilson to remain at Georgia.”

Also of note: The suit argues the term sheet Wilson signed states it would “be used to create a legally binding document” and therefore is not enforceable in its current format, and that he was urged to “seek legal counsel” before the agreement was finalized.

If the document is determined not to be finalized, it is quite likely Wilson will not owe Georgia the $390,000 it seeks.

Per The Athletic, Wilson is seeking “a ‘fair and reasonable amount of damages’ for the ‘financial and reputational harm he has suffered’ along with legal fees” from Georgia.

“Georgia appears intent on making an example of someone, they just picked the wrong person,” Jeff Jensen, one of Wilson’s attorneys, said to the Columbia Daily Tribune. “Damon never had a contract with them. I don’t see how Georgia thinks intimidation and litigation will help their recruitment efforts — maybe players could bring lawyers with them to practice.”

Multiple Missouri representatives, including a team spokesperson and athletic director Laird Veatch, have declined to comment on Wilson’s lawsuit. The Georgia lawsuit is not against the University of Missouri; it is only against Wilson.

“This matter involves pending litigation, and we have no comment at this time,” Georgia spokesperson Steven Drummond told USA TODAY on Tuesday. “We refer you to our previous statement.”

The previous Georgia statement in question: “When the University of Georgia Athletic Association enters binding agreements with student-athletes, we honor our commitments and expect student-athletes to do the same.”

Georgia has argued Wilson signed a contract — a common practice in the NIL era — with what was then Georgia’s main, but now-shuttered, NIL and marketing arm, Classic City Collective, in December 2024.

That collective has since shut down, as Georgia has partnered with Learfield to negotiate and facilitate NIL deals in the revenue-sharing era.

The report, citing documents attached to Georgia’s legal filings, shows that Wilson signed a 14-month term sheet worth $500,000 with the Bulldogs. He was set to earn monthly payments of $30,000 through the end of the contract, as well as two $40,000 bonus payments.

Before announcing his intention to transfer in January, he reportedly was paid $30,000.

The contract states if Wilson left the team or transferred, as he ultimately did to Missouri, he would owe the collective that issued the payments a lump sum equal to the amount remaining on his deal.

The bonus payments seemingly were not included, which brings that total to the $390,000 that Georgia is now seeking in court.

Wilson was paid only a fraction of that sum, but the university argues he owes the full amount in damages. It’s unclear why Georgia is claiming it is owed the full amount in liquidated damages.

According to documents viewed by the Tribune through the Georgia courts records system, Georgia filed an “application to compel arbitration” on Oct. 17 in the Clarke County Superior Court, which includes Athens and the University of Georgia. Wilson was served with a summons to appear in court, according to documents, on Nov. 19, three days before the Tigers faced Oklahoma.

Wilson spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Georgia. He transferred to Missouri ahead of spring camp in 2025 and has emerged as one of the top pass rushers in the SEC.

Per Pro Football Focus, Wilson generated 49 pressures on opposing quarterbacks this season, which was the second-most in the SEC behind only Colin Simmons at Texas. He’s listed at 6-4, 250 pounds and could declare for the 2026 NFL Draft, where he would likely be a Day 1 or 2 pick.

This case marks the first time a school has taken a player to court over an NIL buyout. It also looks likely to be the first time a player has filed suit against a school over NIL.

Missouri has multiple players on two-year contracts. Part of that is in the hope they do not move on after one season.

If Georgia’s arbitration case against Wilson is successful, that would be a groundbreaking ruling in college athletics that could give more weight to liquidated damages clauses in athlete contracts.

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College Football Playoff team loses key starter to NCAA transfer portal

Published

4 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The first round of the College Football Playoff is in the books. Eight teams remain in the hunt to win it all, with Miami and Ohio State kicking off the quarterfinals slate in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on December 31.

There were quite a few memorable games in the opening round of the playoffs, including Miami’s hard-fought victory against Texas A&M and Alabama’s wild comeback to secure a road win over Oklahoma.

The lone blowout came from Ole Miss over Tulane, winning 41-10 over the Green Wave. Both programs are in transition after their head coaches were hired away by other schools. The Green Wave, in particular, has seen some attrition since concluding its season last week.

Another Tulane Starter Enters Transfer Portal

On Wednesday afternoon, redshirt sophomore cornerback Jahiem Johnson announced his plans to move on after three seasons at Tulane, per On3’s Haye Fawcett.

Johnson developed into a productive defender for the Green Wave in 2025, starting in all 14 games. He totaled 42 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble, 9 pass deflections, and 4 interceptions. Johnson’s 9 pass deflections led the American Conference.

He deflected a pass in 6 different games and recorded a pick in 4 separate outings. In Tulane’s conference championship victory against North Texas, Johnson tied his season-high with 5 tackles, 1 pass deflection, and 1 interception.

The Louisiana native played the most snaps (834 snaps) of any player on Tulane’s defense. He was the third-highest-graded player on the unit (77.1 overall grade), per Pro Football Focus.

Johnson signed with Tulane as a three-star prospect in the 2023 class, joining the program under former head coach Willie Fritz. He redshirted as a true freshman, sticking with the Green Wave when Jon Sumrall took over.

In 2024, appeared in 14 games as a reserve, totaling 4 tackles and 2 pass deflections. Johnson’s rise this past season resulted in him earning honorable mention conference honors.

Johnson is the fifth starter to transfer from Tulane, joining defensive end Santana Hopper, linebacker Harvey Dyson, defensive tackle Tre’Von McAlpine, and running back Javin Gordon in the portal.

Sumrall was hired away from the Green Wave to be the next head coach of the Florida Gators. Considering Johnson’s breakout campaign, he may want to continue playing for a familiar face if that option is on the table.

Four key Gophers will be back in 2026

Published

5 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

PHOENIX — Four important Gopher football players were part of a unique media campaign on Tuesday.

The social media posts were “presented by Cub Foods,” and those players will be recipients of the grocer’s NIL contribution next year. Dinkytown Athletes serves as a subcontractor.

Athletics Director Mark Coyle called Cub Foods a “foundational partner” of Gopher sports.

“That is how we take the next step, with that type of involvement with NIL side of it,” Coyle told the Pioneer Press. “We are so grateful for their support.”

“I really haven’t thought about that stuff,” Taylor said. “I’m just worried about the game. I will figure all that out after the game.”

Smith said he hasn’t ruled out entering the transfer portal. “I don’t know,” he said.