A key loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 50-39, could hurt head coach Dana Holgorsen and West Virginia football down the stretch.
No. 22 West Virginia football came into the matchup with the No. 11 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys with hopes of pulling off a big upset at home at Milan Puskar Stadium. Yet, head coach Mike Gundy and the Pokes had different ideas after nearly being defeated by the Texas Longhorns the week before.
This was the first matchup against a ranked opponent for Oklahoma State this season. Meanwhile, West Virginia had already faced three ranked opponents. West Virginia had the edge in terms of playing in the national spotlight. However, it was Oklahoma State that was able to finally get the signature win they’d been searching for since losing to the No. 4 TCU Horned Frogs.
The Pokes entered as seven point favorites over the Mountaineers. West Virginia was very rarely within seven points of Oklahoma State at any one point after the conclusion of the first quarter. Sophomore quarterback Will Grier nearly tossed as many interceptions in one game as he had all season. Grier also completed less than half of his passes.
Maybe the most disappointing part of this game for the Mountaineers was the lack of production on the ground. Senior running back Justin Crawford had trouble even holding on to the football, fumbling at a key time in the first half. Sophomore running back Kennedy McKoy ran for the only score among West Virginia rushers.
It was another run heavy performance for Oklahoma State. True freshman J.D. King got a very heavy workload in place of an injured Justice Hill for most of the game with 36 carries.
Now, let’s take a look at three takeaways from the loss for the West Virginia Mountaineers against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Week 9.