Pregame festivities take place prior to a BYU home game earlier this season. (Photo by Explore Utah Valley)

Thursday, West Virginia got on the plane and travels 1,738 miles to Provo, Utah, for its sixth game, and its third road game of the season. It’s by far the farthest WVU’s traveled this season, with the other road games being at Ohio and at Kansas.

There’s a significant time change, and with the game at 8:30 p.m. local time, it’ll actually feel like 10:30 p.m. for the players. It’s going to be an adjustment.

Then, there’s the crowd of LaVell Edwards Stadium.

The stadium holds 63,470, which is the largest in the Big 12. For reference, Milan Puskar Stadium is fourth and holds 60,000.

“The biggest challenge on the road is, this is going to be the first true crowd noise test for our guys, I think from that standpoint,” Rich Rodriguez said. ‘We got to prepare for that. We’ll be working on crowd noise every day. We did some yesterday, and we’ll do it today, tomorrow.”

The fans might not be as rowdy as Mountaineer fans because most don’t drink alcohol, but the BYU fans have made an impact and provide an advantage for their team. The Cougars are 343-150-6 at home, which is almost a 70% win percentage. BYU was 6-1 last season at home and is undefeated this year.

“Supposedly, they’re into the game,” Rodriguez said. “They’re loud. Crowd noise is a problem. You gotta make sure you communicate. You gotta be disciplined. You’re not gonna be able to hear coaches yell adjustments or something out there. You gotta make sure you’re well prepared for anything that’s gonna happen to you. Then you gotta tune it out as well. You gotta hope, maybe use it as a motivator. The louder you’re making them be, maybe the better off you’re playing.”

Playing at altitude is another factor in the game. BYU is at 4,553 feet compared to WVU’s 961 feet. It’s harder to breathe at elevation, and you need to hydrate more. Rodriguez is no stranger to playing at elevation. Rodriguez coached in the Pac-12 at Arizona for six years and played Utah pretty regularly. The Utes are just under an hour drive from Provo.

Rodriguez hasn’t seen the elevation affect his players.

“I’ve never even thought,” Rodriguez said. “The first time I’ve thought about that, was just now. I’ve never really thought there’s much difference. I’ve played out there, played in Colorado, played in Utah, many times, I never sense anything from our players.”

The biggest way to silence the crowd is to play well. The crowd will be loud to start, but nothing shuts up the crowd like a long drive or a big play early on, setting the tone for the rest of the game. WVU hasn’t done that.

When WVU opens the game with a long drive, like against Robert Morris and Pitt, it wins. In the three losses, WVU’s opening drive was a punt. On the road, it’s even more important to start quick.

“I think always the momentum part of it helps and the confidence part of it,” Rodriguez said. “When we’re getting first downs consistently, obviously, you got a chance to control the tempo. In the last game, we couldn’t do that, and then we couldn’t stop them. It was a combination of both. It’s not like we’re not trying. We’ve got to do a better job of coming out of the gates.”

West Virginia native and college football coaching legend Nick Saban always said, “The fans don’t make plays in the game.” He’s right. It’s up to the players and coaches to let the crowd affect them. It sounds like WVU is keeping that in mind when it travels to BYU.

“I don’t really know much about Utah,” wide receiver Justin Smith-Brown said. “But what I do know is that football is football, so regardless of where we are or what it is, we just got to go out there and play.”

Marchiol to enter transfer portal

Quarterback Nicco Marchiol’s time at West Virginia could be over.

Marchiol will reportedly medically redshirt and enter the transfer portal at the end of the season, according to On3’s Pete Nakos and Chris Low.

Marchiol was WVU’s starter for the first four games of the season. After Kansas, he went to Rich Rodriguez to inform him of a lingering mid-foot injury that he had been dealing with. Marchiol went to Colorado to see a specialist and missed the Utah game. Then, Rodriguez said Marchiol was in Arizona with family and getting another opinion. He was recently ruled out for Friday’s game against BYU.

Now, it looks like Kansas was his last game in the Gold and Blue.

Marchiol had his ups and downs this season, and was benched at some point in the last three games. However, Marchiol came back in and led the Mountaineers to a comeback victory over Pitt, throwing a game-winning touchdown pass with just a couple of seconds left on the board.

He threw for 720 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in four games.

Marchiol was one of the few WVU players who took a chance on Rodriguez after Neal Brown was fired. His love for the school made him stay.

Marchiol played in eight games last year and started in two. He went 2-0 as a starter, backing up Garret Greene. As a redshirt freshman, Marchiol helped the Mountaineers to win a over Pitt, again, and Texas Tech.

Even with the success, Marchiol’s reportedly planning on going elsewhere.

Marchiol was the starter, but he didn’t really fit into a Rodriguez offense. Rodriguez’s quarterbacks are supposed to be mobile and handle a heavy workload on the ground. Marchiol could move, but he wasn’t as mobile as what’s required to lead a WVU offense. Marchiol’s upside was he could throw better than the other quarterbacks, so that’s why Rodriguez went with him. With how important the rushing part is, the fit wasn’t there.

If Marchiol is done for the year, WVU will lean on veteran transfer quarterbacks Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson and Charlotte transfer Max Brown, and youngsters Khalil Wilkins and Scottie Fox Jr. All four have played at some point this season, and also had their moments.

The four are more running quarterback and fit Rodriguez’s scheme better.