Kansas defensive coordinator DK McDonald screamed directly at West Virginia quarterback Nicco Marchiol during a blowout win on Saturday. His behavior somehow did not draw a flag.
Penalty or not, it is a bad look for the Jayhawks.
Emotions run high in college football but this kind of thing should not happen. A full-grown man should not get in the face of a 22-year-old.
Kansas stuffed Nicco Marchiol in a locker.
Credit where credit is due. McDonald designed a perfect game plan for the Mountaineers.
West Virginia totaled 324 total yards of offense with only 142 yards through the air. It converted only three of 15 attempts on third down and went 0-for-2 on fourth down. It also punted eight times, lost a fumble and threw an interception. Kansas won 41-10.
Marchiol played the first three quarters. He completed only 55% of his passes for 126 yards. He also lost four yards on six carries.
Rich Rodriguez benched Marchiol during the fourth quarter to give reps to Khalil Wilkins and Jaylen Henderson. The first-year head coach also checked the fringe lunatics by taking full responsibility for the ugly blowout loss during his postgame press conference.
DK McDonald screamed at West Virginia’s quarterback.
One of Marchiol’s six runs led him to run out of bounds onto the visiting sideline. McDonald went ballistic. It was a big stop on third down.
Marchiol got back to his feet and walked back toward the huddle. McDonald let out a guttural yell.
In doing so, the Jayhawks’ defensive coordinator stepped right in front of the Mountaineers’ quarterback to not only stare him down but unleash a second scream directly in his face.
The brief altercation took place on the field, just beyond the white of the sideline. Marchiol turned back to talk back at McDonald before the official stepped in to break it up.
KU’s DC gets into it with the WVU QB 😬 pic.twitter.com/FdmhvdRUVA
— Mike Vernon (@M_Vernon) September 21, 2025
I love the energy. But that energy should not be directed at the opposing quarterback— or any player.
It’s not a good look! The official probably should’ve thrown a flag for unsportsmanlike behavior. Kansas should’ve been penalized. West Virginia should’ve received a fresh set of downs.
That is not what happened but its not like it made a difference in the final score anyway.
Credit to Nicco Marchiol here. He could’ve snapped back at DK McDonald or done something stupid to hurt his team even more than he already did but he kept his composure. That’s maturity.